Murphy's Child
by Donnavan
Summary: Set after X2. Both Magneto and Xavier are recruiting in preparation for a final battle between them, but a new and unpredictable force may pose more of a threat to them than they do to each other. What do you do when there's more than one war going on, an
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This story is entirely meant for fun. Yes, it does have a plot, and it will be written as if it were a serious story, but the whole seven OC's sort of negates that. So this is me, giving you a warning. There. Now you have no excuse not to hit the back button if this isn't what you're looking for. Any flames regarding how my writing sucks and my OC's are the biggest Mary Sues ever will be laughed at. And possibly deleted. Note I said flames, not concrit. Concrit is fine and good.

And I've gone on long enough, so I'm just going to take a final moment to thank Abby, Kayce, Megan, and Paesha for being the inspiration behind this fic and many of its characters. You guys rule!

* * *

**Chapter One**

"Did you need something, Charles?" Storm asked as she leaned against the door of Xavier's office.

He had been staring out the window, but he looked up at hearing her arrival and smiled. "Yes. I wanted to ask a favor of you. I've detected some mutant hostility not too far from here. If you could…?"

Storm smiled in understanding. "Of course. I'll get Scott."

Xavier closed his eyes briefly. "Scott's not here at the moment, Ororo."

She sighed, but didn't bother asking where he was. Storm had a feeling she knew. "I'll take Logan, then. He's probably in the mood for some action."

"Yes, he usually is." Xavier replied, his eyes amused. "Oh, and Storm? There are some mutants there that may need help. Please tell them that they can always find it here."

Storm nodded, then left to go track down Logan.

* * *

The outdoor café was a favorite amongst the local college students and usually filled almost beyond its limits. That day, though, there were several empty tables, all surrounding one occupied by five young women. Four of them were relatively normal looking, aside from one with blue and white hair that could easily be explained the fascination people of that age seemed to have with hair dye. However, the fifth member of the little group was quite obviously a mutant. A body covered with silver scales and topped off with silver hair and bright blue eyes tended to give that away. 

None of the other four seemed at all bothered by this fact, though, as they cheerfully sipped drinks and picked at the remains of their lunch. In fact, the purple-eyed woman with long, curly black hair sitting next to the scaled mutant casually leaned over and commented, "See, this is why we hang out with you, Anorra. We always get plenty of space to ourselves."

"Cassandra's right." The woman on the other side of Anorra agreed, brushing a strand of layered black hair out of her green eyes. "No invasion of the personal bubble."

"Cassandra? Sam?" Anorra said. "Shut up."

Samantha opened her mouth to reply, but was distracted by the arrival of their cute waiter, who had come to take their more or less empty plates away. As soon as he was safely out of hearing range, Samantha informed them, "Okay, now, him? He can invade my personal bubble."

The brunette next to Samantha began to choke on her soda, blue eyes tearing up slightly.

"Um. Don't die, Rachel?" Samantha suggested.

"Thanks." Rachel muttered, once she had caught her breath. "You're so helpful."

"This seems to happen a lot." Cassandra said absently. "I think one of us should learn the Heimlich or something."

"I know it." Anorra replied. "Or at least, I know the basics. Picked it up somewhere."

"I know it, too." The final member of their group said, moving her silvery blue eyes away from her remaining French fries. "We learned it in health class when I was in high school." Her long blue hair had fallen over her shoulder with the movement, revealing the white that the end of her hair was tipped with.

"Oh, good. So we've got Zephyr and Anorra to count on next time one of us makes a stupid comment and someone ends up choking." Cassandra said.

Samantha crossed her arms. "My comment wasn't stupid. It was accurate."

"And way too much information." Rachel informed her.

"Don't make me start on you and your tennis guys." Samantha returned.

"Hey, there is no one better than Rafa." Rachel replied.

Anorra rolled her eyes. "You had to mention tennis. We almost went a whole lunch without it."

"Rachel was probably thinking about it." Zephyr said. "Even if we weren't technically talking about it."

Cassandra nodded. "Good point."

"Miss, you shouldn't sit there!" A male voice called, drawing their attention away.

A young woman with spiked blue and black hair had taken one of the tables next to them. She was currently flipping through a menu and utterly ignoring the man who had spoken. He didn't seem to take the hint, though, for he walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Really, miss, those mutants are dangerous." He tried again.

She turned to look at him, black eyes glaring at him. "Don't touch me." She told him, voice tinged with anger.

The man winced and recoiled back in horror. "You're one of them! A damn mutant!"

The woman stood up, looking incredibly pissed off. She reached out a hand towards him, and his eyes widened even more.

"God." He said. "I can't….I have to get something to eat!"

The man turned towards his table, but before he could make it, he collapsed to his knees. His arms wrapped around his stomach as he looked pleadingly at her from shrunken eyes set in a face that was looking more skeletal by the minute.

"Hey!" Zephyr shouted, standing up. "Leave him alone!"

The woman's concentration was broken and the man dropped to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Just like a human." Another woman said, coming up to stand in front of Zephyr. Her long brown hair was wild and streaked with random strips of gray and black, and her hazel eyes were filled with disgust. "Standing up for one of your own, but you never lift a finger to defend a mutant."

She took another step towards Zephyr, and the blue-haired woman lifted up her arms, holding out her hands. The approaching mutant stopped suddenly, unable to move.

A smile spread across her face. "You're a mutant! Sorry about that, hon. I've got no quarrel with you, then. Let me go, would you?"

Zephyr dropped her arms, and the woman gave a nod of gratitude before moving to the spiky haired mutant's side.

"You want to finish him off, Aphedria, or are you gonna let me?" She asked.

"What do you think, Charm?" Aphedria snapped.

"Fine, fine." Charm replied, taking a step back. "Have all the fun."

"Hang on." Cassandra said, standing up. "No one's finishing anyone off."

"You do realize it's fighting like this that makes people hate us, right?" Samantha asked, joining her.

Aphedria turned to glare at her. "They'd hate us no matter what we did, so why not fight?" She lifted her arm, pointing her hand towards them.

Anorra growled and sprang up. "You point that thing somewhere else."

Aphedria shrugged. "Fine." She agreed, then turned to select one of the few patrons that hadn't left yet.

* * *

The X-jet hovered over the area for a moment before finding a place to land that wasn't occupied by fleeing people. Storm and Wolverine descended from the plane, then paused to survey the scene. The outdoor café where things had apparently started was in relatively good condition, with only a few broken chairs and some scorched tables. However, a burn holes pitted half of the courtyard where the battle was currently taking place, and a huge puddle of water covered one part. Hovering in the air above it was a young woman holding what appeared to be a small ball of fire. Another ball of fire was hurling towards a woman on the ground, who was encased in a red, shimmering dome. An eight-foot tall silver dragon let out a rushing spray of water, which hit the dome and pushed it and the woman back a few feet. 

Across the courtyard, another young woman screamed, "Zephyr! Run, now!"

Something invisible pushed a blue-haired woman a good ten feet away from the spiky-haired mutant that had been moving towards her. The spiky-haired mutant gave a frustrated yell, and was promptly tackled by a large black lion.

"Any idea who were supposed to be helping here?" Wolverine asked.

"Get off me you human-loving filth!" The spiky-haired mutant shouted, throwing the lion off.

"Not her?" Storm replied, spreading her arms and allowing herself to rise into the air.

The lion clambered up, then, and padded over to stand between the blue-haired woman and the one who had screamed. The dragon joined them, and the woman hovering in the air landed next to them.

"There's five of us, and two of you." The mutant who had warned Zephyr to run said. "You really want to see how this ends?"

The mutant encased in red hesitated, then called something in a language that sounded like a song. A red convertible streaked towards them, and she and the spiky-haired mutant hopped inside before taking off at about three times the speed limit.

The lion sniffed the air and the group turned to face Storm and Wolverine as it shifted, slowly becoming another young woman.

"Who are you?" She asked.

* * *

Logan didn't really like the whole meet and greet thing. That was usually Scott's job. Scott and Storm and….Logan cut off that train of thought right then. He didn't want to go there. One thing Logan had always been good at was forgetting the past, and he wasn't going to try and break that habit now. Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Logan turned to eye the five young women that Xavier was currently talking to. Xavier seemed to be of the opinion that they might join them, although as what Logan wasn't sure. They seemed to be caught in that age period when they were too old to be students, but too young to really be teachers. 

Since they had arrived at the mansion, the two black-haired women, Cassandra and Samantha, had done most of the talking. Zephyr had added in an occasional comment, but Anorra and Rachel hadn't really said anything. Logan figured their shyness would wear off eventually. After all, Rogue's had, and now she was quite the friendly young woman. He was glad she had adjusted so well.

"So." Xavier said, finishing his speech and leaning forward slightly. "What do you think?"

Samantha shifted her weight slightly. "Well, it's definitely more appealing than our current school of choice."

"Really." Cassandra agreed. "I mean, come on, dorms or mansion? No contest there."

"What would we do?" Zephyr asked. "Besides learning about our powers. I mean, would we just go to classes, or would we help out the teachers…?"

"Aside from classes on your powers, there are some mutant knowledge and ethics classes, as well as some advanced courses in other subjects that you could take if you desired." Xavier replied. "If you wish to help the teachers, I'm sure they would appreciate it, and if you have any special skills you may wish to lead your own class. Most likely only a small group of students until you get settled in, but we do have a relatively short staff and could always use more."

The five women glanced at each other.

"You have stables, right?" Samantha asked, but she seemed to already know the answer, for she continued on. "I grew up on a ranch, so I know how to lead trail rides and such. And the whole tack and groom thing, too. If, you know, you don't already have a riding instructor."

Logan looked at Xavier. They used to. It was Scott. He knew the basics, and could at least teach proper care of horses. But after….Well, riding class had been the first thing to go. Now only experienced students were allowed access to the horses.

"As it happens, that position is open, at least temporarily." Xavier told her. "I'm sure you'll do a splendid job."

Samantha grinned brightly, looking pleased. Rachel hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward.

"I could give tennis lessons?" Rachel offered quietly. "Do you have a tennis team?"

Xavier shook his head. "Not currently. But we do have baseball, basketball, and football teams, so there's no reason we couldn't add tennis to the list. I can start a sign-up sheet to see if any of the students are interested." He then glanced over at Zephyr. "Yes, I think Storm would appreciate your assistance in teaching the older children how to fly."

Zephyr jumped and nearly asked him how he knew what she was thinking before she remembered he was a telepath. "Oh. If you're sure. I mean, I don't know everything. I thought maybe I could provide demonstrations, you know, air pressure in the cabin and stuff."

Xavier nodded. "Whatever you don't know and would like to learn, Storm will teach you. She holds an advanced piloting class once a week."

"Track!" Cassandra announced suddenly. "I could do that. I really don't run out of energy, you know, so…"

Logan shrugged. "You want to teach the shrimps the merits of running their pants off, go ahead. One less thing for me to have to cover Cyke for." He'd be watching her, though, for at least the first few times. Just in case.

Anorra, who until then had been silent, asked softly, "Can I think about it?"

"Of course," Xavier told her. "Come talk to me whenever you want." He paused to look over each one of them briefly, then nodded to himself. "We'll get you settled in your rooms for now, and when you're ready someone will take you to pick up your things. If you'd like, you can have a tour of the mansion before you go."

Logan furrowed his brows slightly. "I don't have to show them around, do I?"

"You know, you really should have more friendly people with you to do the whole 'my school is the best' thing." Cassandra commented.

Logan turned his glare in her direction. "Watch it, bub."

Cassandra blinked at him, then looked over at her friends. "Did he just call me 'bub'?"

"I think he did, Cass." Samantha said cheerfully. "Although how he confused your chest for a guy's is beyond me."

"I think bub might be a gender neutral thing, in this case." Zephyr suggested.

Samantha shrugged. "I hear bub and I think Bubba, and then the whole mental picture thing starts…"

Rachel shook her head. "Once again, too much information."

"At least you weren't drinking this time, or you'd probably have to pay for soda damages to the furniture." Anorra told her.

"No, I'd make Sam pay it." Rachel said.

Logan stared at them for a moment, then raised his eyebrows at Xavier. "_They're_ going to be X-men?"

The women didn't even hear him, and whatever response Xavier had been going to give was cut off by a knock on the office door.

Xavier smiled. "Come in, Bobby, Rogue."

The door open and the two walked in, stopping in front of the door to look over the five women.

"These are the newest mutants at the mansion." Xavier told Bobby and Rogue. "They'll be joining you and Colossus for training." He turned to the new mutants. "Rogue and Bobby will show you your rooms, and the rest of the mansion if you'd like."

"Yeah, I'd like a tour." Rachel spoke up, rather quickly, then hesitated. "If you guys don't mind."

None of them did, and with a final good-bye to Xavier and Logan, the younger mutants trooped out into the hall.

"So," Bobby said as the walked. "Like the professor said, I'm Bobby, and this is Rogue."

"Pleasure to meet you." Rogue told them, her Southern accent obvious in her voice. "Since we're gonna be training together, do you mind telling us what y'all can do?"

"And, you know, your names. That might be useful, too." Bobby added.

"Sam." Samantha replied. "And I talk to animals. And turn into them, too."

"I never run out of energy, and…" Cassandra started, but halfway through her sentence she stopped saying words. Her mouth kept moving, but nothing came out.

"She does that sometimes." Zephyr said. "We're pretty sure it has something to do with her second power, but Cassandra's never been able to tell us what it is." She paused. "I'm Zephyr, by the way. I control air pressure."

"Rachel. I fly." Rachel said with a smile. "And I can create flaming tennis balls and throw them really hard and fast."

Rogue blinked. "Flaming tennis balls?"

"Sounds kinda cool." Bobby commented with a grin.

Rachel grinned back at him. "It is. It doesn't really help in a tennis match, though."

There was a moment of silence before Anorra realized they were waiting for her to speak.

"I'm a dragon." She told them. "Or at least, I am some of the time. When I am, I can breathe water, and control a bit. And my name's Anorra."

Rogue nodded. "Y'all have fieldnames? Bobby here's Iceman and, well, I just go by Rogue."

Samantha and Rachel glanced at each other, then shook their heads.

"Cassandra is my, um, fieldname." Cassandra replied.

"Same here." Zephyr agreed.

"Telepsa." Anorra said.

Samantha grinned a bit. "We'll think of something eventually, won't we, Rach?"

"Sure." Rachel said. "Can't promise it won't be dorky, though."

Most of the group laughed, and the tour continued. They were headed towards the gym when they meet Kurt in the hall, who was walking the opposite way. He was wearing his X-men uniform and looked a bit worn out.

The second Samantha spotted him, her eyes widened slightly and she took half a step for him. Fortunately, Anorra was close enough to her to grab Samantha's arm, stopping her.

"No." Anorra told her quietly.

"But the pretty…" Samantha protested, equally as softly.

"No pretty." Anorra murmured, then let go with a warning glance as Kurt stopped in front of them.

"Hello Rogue, Bobby." Kurt greeted, then looked over at the others. "New residents? Gutentag. I am Kurt Wagner, but in the Munich circus I was known as the incredible Nightcrawler."

Bobby and Rogue exchanged amused grins at the way Kurt still introduced himself.

"Samantha Redbone." Samantha said, offering him her hand. "No nifty nickname, unfortunately."

Kurt blinked at her, then shook her offered hand.

Samantha smiled, and while the other introductions were being made she leaned over to Anorra and whispered, "Ha. I got to touch the pretty."

Anorra rolled her eyes, but didn't return the comment.

"They're going to be training with us." Rogue told Kurt.

Kurt smiled. "Really? I will be looking forward to seeing you all in action, then."

They chatted for another few minutes before going their separate ways.

When Kurt was gone, Samantha let out a sort of gasping noise. "Did you _see_ him?"

"Yeah, he has that effect on people sometimes." Bobby said with a grin. "You'll get used to him."

Samantha shook her head. "I will never get used to seeing someone that beautiful." Her voice turned slightly wistful. "You think he'd let me paint him or something?"

Bobby raised his eyebrows and Rogue grinned slightly.

"Don't mind Sam." Zephyr told them.

"Yeah, she's kinda crazy." Cassandra agreed.

Rachel nodded. "Crazier than the rest of us, definitely."

"Which is saying something." Cassandra said.

"I tried to stop her." Anorra said. "She just wouldn't listen."

Samantha mock-pouted, turning to Bobby and Rogue. "They gang up on me. It's not my fault."

"We're sure it isn't." Bobby told her, in a 'I'm talking to a crazy person, so I'm just going to agree with whatever they say' tone.

Rogue laughed. "You can't trust Bobby. He'll gang up on you, too. He does it to me all the time."

Bobby shot her a look. "I do not. Okay, there was that one time. But you deserved it!"

"No one deserves that!" Rogue protested.

Cassandra stared at them for a moment. "I think I've decided I don't want to know what 'that one time' was. Because my mind lives in the gutter, and any more information will just make it even worse."

"At least you don't get mental pictures." Samantha told her.

Zephyr tilted her head. "If you get mental pictures, and Professor Xavier's a telepath, does that mean he gets them, too?"

The seven of them pondered that for a moment, then Samantha commented, "We are going to spend _so_ much time in detention."

* * *

She wasn't the only good thing that had ever happened to him. He had experienced plenty of other times of good fortune in his life, but none of the ever mattered. Because he knew that, without a doubt, each one of them would fall. Something would go wrong, something bad would happen, and then the good time would be over. It always happened. Always. 

But not with her. He had never been able to count on anything before, but he could count on her. She would always love him, and as long as he didn't take advantage of that, he couldn't mess that up. And he didn't. Because he loved her, too. She was his reason. The reason why he took ever tragedy in stride, never letting it bother him too much. Because he knew that she would be there.

And then one day she wasn't. She was gone, and for the first time in his life something bad happened to him that hadn't been his fault. It didn't hurt any less. In fact, it seemed to hurt even more. There was no reason. No reason for what happened to her, and now he had no reason. There was a part of him that wanted to die. He tried it, once, when the night was late and the alcohol had clouded his mind. But, of course, he couldn't die. He knew that.

Besides, he had a reason, now. He had a way to make everything right. Not better, no, nothing could be better without her. But he could make it right. He could make everyone understand everything he had been through. He didn't know how long it would last. He didn't care. For now, he would just do it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Second chapter up! It's a bit of a short chapter, but at least it's up. Once again, story for fun, and flamers will be laughed at. Then left to by engulfed by Paesha's chest. Many, many thanks to the same people as last time for even more inspiration.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Rachel surveyed her new room with a bit of a smile on her face. It was definitely bigger than her dorm room had been. Even with all of the boxes scattered across the hardwood floor. After the tour, they had gone to get their things, but by the time they were done and had brought everything back, it was really too late to start unpacking. Rachel had unpacked linens so she could make her bed, but other than that, she was planning on leaving everything for the morning. Zephyr and Anorra had done the same, but Samantha hadn't even bothered with the linens. Last Rachel saw, Samantha had been in lion form, curled up on the floor amongst her boxes. Cassandra, though, would probably be up for most of the night unpacking. Aside from never running out of energy, Cassandra had a bit of OCD that Rachel figured would make her go into an unpacking craze.

At least until Cassandra's brain died. Unlike her body, Cassandra's mind did indeed grow tired, so that the woman really did need to sleep. She just usually didn't notice it until all of her rational thought was gone. Of course, with Cassandra, that was pretty much most of the time.

Rachel grinned as that thought occurred to her, then continued on the search for her towel. Although sleep was sounding really good right now, especially with all of the chaos today, a shower seemed even better. A nice, long, hot one. And hopefully it would be late enough that no one else would be in there. Although Rachel now had her own room, she still had to share a bathroom with the rest of the women on the floor. Rachel's room was on the third floor of the mansion, in the left wing. The first floor was classrooms, and the second student rooms. Rachel had gotten a look at them on the tour, and was incredibly grateful that she got to be up on the third floor with the adults. Granted, the rooms downstairs were bigger, but each one was home to three students. Rachel had been going crazy with just one roommate, let alone two.

Then again, her roommate hadn't been the most tolerable of people. Rachel probably would have come here just so she wouldn't have to share a room with her anymore. So the fact that she still had to share the bathrooms was really no big deal to her. She really only cared about no more roommate. Besides, it wasn't like it really mattered. Although this floor was co-ed, the bathrooms and showers weren't. And she knew most of the women on this part of the floor, anyway. Anorra was in the room next to her, and Zephyr in the room after that. Samantha was across from her, then Rogue's room and finally Cassandra's. And with Bobby in the room next to Zephyr's, Rachel had at least met almost everyone in her part of the floor. The last room, the one on the other side of Cassandra's, was taken by someone named Piotr, who had already been asleep by the time they got back. Bobby and Rogue had assured them that they would meet him tomorrow.

Or, actually, later today. Realizing the time brought Rachel out of her thoughts long enough to locate her towel and various shower items. She really did want to get to sleep before the sun was actually up. So she quickly undressed, wrapping her towel around herself and gathering up her shampoo and such before heading out the door.

She had taken about three steps out of her room when Bobby rounded the corner, probably on his way back from the men's bathrooms. Fortunately, the two of them saw each other before they had collided, although it was pretty damn close. Close enough that Rachel had a very nice view of the fact that Bobby was only wearing a pair of boxers.

Rachel blushed darkly, the hand clutching her towel unconsciously tightened. "Um. Hi."

"Hey." Bobby greeted, sounding completely unfazed by the fact that both of them were slightly more than half-naked. "You're up late."

"Yeah." Rachel replied. "You, too."

He shrugged. "Not really. Just woke up, actually, to use the restroom."

"Oh." Rachel said, absently wondering if attempting to fly over him to the showers would make things worse. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep without taking a shower."

Bobby nodded. "You guys were fighting, right? The professor told me about that. He said there were two new mutants there."

"Well, they were new for me. But so are all of you guys." She said. "I don't really know any mutants besides my friends."

He smiled. "You know a lot now. It's actually a really nice feeling."

She shifted her weight slightly. "I think I'm still too busy trying to figure out exactly what's going on right now."

Bobby laughed. "I was the same way, at first. You'll get used to things. And if you need anything, just ask. I'm only a couple of doors down."

"Sure." Rachel agreed, shrugging slightly.

The movement of her shoulders brought Bobby's attention to them and he blinked for a moment, looking closer at them. "Is that a tattoo? Of a flaming tennis ball?"

"Huh?" Rachel looked over at her left shoulder and blushed even darker. "Oh. Um, yeah. Sam and I were really random one day and ended up with tattoos."

He smiled, amused. "Well, it looks really cool. Especially on you."

"Thanks," She said, shifting her weight again and looking slightly uncomfortable.

He frowned, looking a little concerned. "Are you okay? We just met and everything, but, you know, you can tell me if something's wrong."

"Um." She said. "It's just, it's kinda cold out here, and…" Rachel trailed off. Bobby had leaned towards her slightly, probably in an attempt to be comforting, but it really only succeeding in distracting her. "Shower." She finished lamely, in some vague attempt to convey what she meant.

"Oh!" Bobby's eyes widened slightly, then flicked over her as if he was just now realizing that she wasn't wearing anything besides a towel. "Right. Sorry about that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Rachel nodded, then moved past him as quickly as she could without losing her grip on her towel. Bobby made his way to his room equally as quickly, trying to hide the fact that a slight blush had spread over his face. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be sleeping safely in their rooms, as he managed to dart into his own without anyone the wiser.

* * *

Either Anorra was the first one up that morning, or her friends had decided to start unpacking without banging on her door first. And, knowing her friends, it was the former. Sure enough, when she went to go take a shower, the hall was silent. When she had finished showering and gotten dressed with no sign of her friends, Anorra decided it was time to go wake them up. Once out in the hall, though, she found a sign of life in the form of a really tall, really buff, really _hot_ young man. 

He spotted her as well and gave her a friendly smile. "Good morning. You are one of the new members to our team, da?"

Anorra's mouth opened, but nothing came out. She closed it again for a moment, then managed to stammer out, "Um, yeah."

"Welcome, then." He said. "My name is Piotr. Most people call me Peter, or Pete. Sorry that I could not make your acquaintance last night. But it is nice to meet you now."

It was probably a combination of the fact that Anorra was too busy deliberately _not _staring to really hear the second part and that she could actually pronounce his actual name that had her replying, "You, uh, you too, Piotr. Anorra. I'm Anorra."

"You have a lovely name." Piotr told her. "And I am thinking we are a bit alike."

When Anorra looked at him in confusion, he transformed, growing about a foot in height and acquiring a silver metal shield.

"Hey!" Samantha yelled from behind her. "You have the power of shinyness!"

A door flung open and Cassandra called, "There's actually a power of…There is!"

The two women were by Anorra's side almost instantly, staring. Both of their hands started reaching out, but fortunately, Anorra was able to notice in time to snatch them by the wrists.

"Come on, we have to go. Unpack, and, and stuff." Anorra said, her eyes not meeting Piotr's.

She turned and dragged the complaining Cassandra and Samantha away, leaving behind a very confused Piotr.

* * *

Cassandra was in a surprisingly good mood. Well, maybe not surprisingly, since yesterday had been a great day, and waking up in a mansion to a really attractive shiny guy hadn't exactly changed that. Still, though, that would account for only a mildly good mood, and she was in a really good mood. It might have had something to do with the fact that she was on her way to see Logan. Cassandra didn't mind admitting that she found him attractive. Because, well, he was. Really attractive. And there was just something about him, the way he acted, maybe, that drew her to him. 

But, anyway, none of that was actually why she was going to see him. It was just why she was happy about going to see him. Cassandra wanted to talk to Logan about the whole teaching track thing. She wasn't entirely sure how that would work, especially since she had never taught a class before. So she was a little nervous, seeing as most of her students would probably have powers that were much more active than hers. It would be really difficult to try and intimidate someone who could lift her over his head or something.

It was Saturday morning, so Cassandra figured Logan would probably be in his room. Or maybe in the gym working out or something. He seemed like the kind of guy that would wake up early and go fight something. When she knocked on his door, though, a slightly gruff voice told her to come on in, so she opened the door and walked inside.

Logan was pulling on a tank top, and the flash of bare skin she received distracted her until the shirt was completely on.

"You need something?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, actually." Cassandra said. "I wanted to talk to you about the teaching thing. Since, uh, I've never actually done it before."

He shrugged. "Me, neither. Not before I came here. Nothing to it, really."

"That's easy for you to say. You can scare them into doing what you say." She said. "I've got nothing."

Logan frowned. "Nothing? What are your powers?"

"I'd try to tell you one of them, but it wouldn't work and I'd just end up mouthing words and looking like I was trying to do an impression of a fish." She said, shrugging. "And I also never run out of energy."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on the first part. Instead, he asked, "Never?"

"Nope. Not physically, anyway. I do need to sleep, though." Cassandra said.

Logan nodded. "We got a kid here that doesn't."

"That would suck. I love sleep way too much to want to go without it." She commented.

He shrugged. "Seems to work for him."

There was a moment of silence as Cassandra looked around his room. She spotted a small framed pictured of a red-headed woman on his dresser and moved towards it.

"Who's this? I haven't seen her around here." She asked.

Logan glanced at it, then turned the picture away. "An old friend."

"Oh." She opened her mouth to say something, then her eyes widened. "Oh!"

"What?" He asked, moving towards her.

"Is her name Jean?" Cassandra asked, her eyes not really looking at him and her voice almost absent.

Logan's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?" There was a schink sound by his hands, but Cassandra's eyes were now locked onto his so she couldn't see what it was.

Cassandra started talking, trying to explain, but nothing came out. There were times when she really, really hated her power. Like right now. When there was something she wanted to tell him, something that would make that deep sadness in his eyes disappear. But she couldn't. And in that moment, with the way he was looking at her, she would have done almost anything to change that.

Finally, she just shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't."

His eyes searched hers for a long moment, almost long enough to make her want to look away. Whatever he saw in there must have been enough to convince him not to kill her, since he just shook his head.

"You shouldn't be spouting comments like that when you can't back them up, kid." Logan told her.

Cassandra frowned. "I'm not a kid. I'm twenty-three. There's no way you could be that much older than me." She paused. "Unless you have that weird thing like Anorra and age one year for every three that passes. Or something. Oh my God, you have shiny! Does everyone in this place have shiny?"

He stared at her and she pointed to his metal claws. Logan glanced downwards, then retracted them.

"Do you have some obsession with shiny things?" He asked.

Cassandra nodded. "Actually, I do. Although it's kind of impossible not to. Really, who couldn't like the shiny?" She shook her head. "But, anyway, I came in here to ask you for advice."

"Advice?" Logan repeated. That was a new one.

"On teaching." She clarified. "And to see how you wanted to work the whole me teaching track thing."

"Can't really offer you much by way of advice. Everyone has their own teaching style, I'm sure you'll figure yours out." Logan shrugged. "Do whatever you want with track. I'll give you one day a week with the kids, you teach 'em what you see fit."

"Well, that wasn't very helpful." Cassandra muttered. "What do you usually teach them?"

"Self defense. How to not get killed in a battle." Logan told her.

Cassandra considered that for a moment. "Do you think you could teach me?"

"Teach you how not to get killed in a battle?" He asked. "You didn't do so bad yesterday."

"Yeah, because I had other people with me. My powers aren't exactly the most useful for fighting, though." She said.

Logan shrugged. "Fine. Meet me tomorrow outside of the Danger Room tomorrow at eight."

"PM or AM?" She asked.

"Eight in the morning, kid." He answered.

Cassandra stared at him. "There's an eight in the morning now?"

Logan snorted. "Cute. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You have a death wish, don't you?" Cassandra muttered, then shook her head and headed out of the room.

* * *

"Do you have a death wish?" Bobby asked. 

"Me?" Cassandra asked. "He's the one who wants me to wake up at eight in the morning."

"You want to do a one-on-one Danger Room session with Logan? You have a death wish." Bobby said.

"It's not that bad, Bobby." Rogue told them.

"Yeah, because he likes you." Bobby said.

Cassandra had run into them on the way back to her room, and somehow her training with Logan had come up. Bobby thought she was crazy for volunteering to train with him. Apparently one-on-one sessions with Logan were used as a sort of punishment here. Cassandra completely didn't understand that.

"So where are you guys headed?" Cassandra asked. The two of them were dressed up slightly, at least beyond normal Saturday morning clothes.

Rogue smiled, and her gloved hand found Bobby's. "We're gonna go have lunch at this Chinese place."

Cassandra eyed them. "Are you two dating?"

Bobby nodded. "For awhile, now."

Cassandra tilted her head. "How exactly does that work?"

Rogue blushed. "We're, um, working on it."

"Ahhh." Cassandra said. "Good luck with that. I won't keep you, then, have fun on your date."

She waved them off, then went to Rachel's room to break the unfortunate news that Bobby was taken.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Too lazy for a real author's note. Sleep is your friend, you know. You should be nice to it and stuff. Uh. Yeah. Like usual, thanks go to Abby, Megan, Kayce, and Paesha for being the awesome people they are and inspiring me with so much random craziness. And, uh, more random comments about flamers being eaten by Paesha's chest. Because it started the Vietnam War and everything. And stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Charm stretched, leaning back against the driver's seat and resting her arms behind her head. She was very obviously not touching the steering wheel, but she didn't particularly care if anyone saw her car driving itself. Let the humans stare at her for being who she was. And if it meant they avoided her on the road, all the better. She just had more space to defy the speed limit. Her eyes flicked over to the passenger seat, which was currently occupied by Backlash. The black-eyed mutant's short black hair was being ruffled by the wind and the longer strands that framed her face were being blown about, but still her expression remained solemn and serious. Charm wasn't sure she ever seen the other woman smile. And if driving around at ninety miles an hour with the wind blowing through her hair didn't bring a smile, Charm was pretty sure it would never happen.

She stretched again, tilting her head back so she could see Aphedria, who was lounging in the backseat. If Aphedria wasn't so busy being angry at everyone, Charm was sure she'd know how to have a good time. She'd have to try and show her, sometime, as long as Charm was sure Aphedria wouldn't try to kill her. Which she really wasn't. Aphedria didn't hold the same beliefs of treating mutants kindly as Charm did. Aphedria hated mutants almost as much as she hated humans. Charm was pretty sure Aphedria was along the ride only because Magneto actually encouraged her to kill humans. And, of course, he had offered free rooms. That was pretty decent, too.

Charm, though, believed in the things he had said. More than she had believed in anything for quite awhile. Which scared her a little, but also convinced her that this was the place for her. She was pretty sure Backlash agreed with her, too. Backlash had been listening intently to Magneto talking, and then afterwards she had spoken to him privately for quite a few minutes. Then again, though, that really didn't say much. Backlash had pretty much always been the serious, down to business one. Charm was pretty sure most of their biggest heists had been pulled off because of Backlash.

The stealing was something Charm was going to miss, now that they wouldn't have to pay for hotel rooms. Of course, she could probably still do it occasionally. It wasn't like no one would want the money. Her car was slowing down, though, so Charm sat up to look at their surroundings. Pretty soon, they came to a stop in front of a small farmhouse surrounded by empty fields.

"This is it?" Aphedria demanded.

"Magneto said he had dozens of mutants living here." Charm replied. "This can't be it."

"Did your car take us to the wrong place?" Backlash asked.

"My car got us to New York in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. Two days early." Charm said.

"Yes, and then we had to pay for two nights in a hotel." Aphedria said.

"Which I got the money for." Charm returned.

Backlash shook her head. "Come on. Let's knock."

The three of them climbed out of the car and climbed up the old wooden steps. Backlash rapped lightly on the door, and in a few moments the door opened. Pyro stood there, one eyebrow raised and a bit of a smirk on his lips as he looked them over. Backlash stood in front of him, her emotionless black eyes staring into his. Her black hair was cut short, except for the longer strands that framed her face. She was dressed entirely in black leather, with a long sleeved black leather shirt and black leather pants. Her sneakers were black, also, so that the only scrap of color in her outfit was a green belt buckled around her slender waist. She was tall, about an inch taller than him, and it was a little unnerving.

Aphedria flanked her right side, annoyance brimming on the surface of her black eyes. Under that burned an anger that was not likely to ever go out. At least not in this lifetime. Her short hair was black and blue, spiked into rather dangerous looking points. Purple leather clung to her legs, tight enough that it was surprising that she could move as easily as it did. Her tank top was the same color purple and ended an inch or two about her pants, showing a strip of bare skin. She had purple stilettos on her feet, giving her at least an extra five inches of height.

Behind them was Charm, leaning against the railing to the stairs. Her expression mimicked his, except for the fact that her smirk was obviously flirtatious, as was the gleam in her hazel eyes. Reddish-brown hair was streaked with black and gray, then left to pour in wild waves over her bare shoulders. She was wearing a strapless red and black checkered dress, with a hem that stopped halfway down her thighs. Black leather boots started just below her knees and added about two inches to her height. Even with that, though, she was still about four inches shorter than him.

"You guys are the new mutants?" Pyro asked, scorn obvious in his voice.

Aphedria scowled and stepped towards him, but Charm pushed herself off of the railing and moved to intercept her.

"Not this one, hon, he's pretty." Charm told her.

"He won't be, if he keeps running his mouth." Aphedria muttered.

"Where's Magneto?" Backlash asked him, ignoring the other two.

"Not here." Pyro said, flicking his lighter open. Just in case. "I'm Pyro."

"Backlash." She said. "This is Charm and Aphedria."

Charm winked at him, but Aphedria just glared.

Pyro nodded and stepped back, holding the door open for them. "Come on in. I'll take you downstairs."

They followed him inside, then over to the small, rickety staircase. He turned a knob on the railing, and a section of the ground opened up in front of it, revealing a set or sturdy metal stairs leading downward. He lead them silently down, then flicked on the lights. A huge, open room stood before them, light by two giant chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. One door opened into a hallway on the left side of the room, and another on the right.

"Kitchen, training, medical facilities, and entertainment's that way." Pyro said, pointing to the right. "Bedroom's are to the left. Garage is underneath here, your car can go there so it won't raise suspicions parked outside."

"My car can go where ever he wants, hon, he doesn't have to stick around here." Charm replied.

Pyro looked at her. "That's right, you're the mutant that talks to things."

"That's why they call me Charm." She agreed, then grinned. "Well, one of the reasons. Nice place you got here. Fancier than what I'm used to."

"Charm, a motel that only has one broken window is fancier than what you're used to." Aphedria commented, a bit irritated with the other woman's flirting.

Charm shrugged. "True."

"Magneto said we would have full use of the training facilities." Backlash said, looking at Pyro.

"Yeah, he mentioned that. Feel free to use them whenever you want. If someone else is in there, though, you have to work with them." Pyro said. "This way, I'll show you where you're sleeping. Magneto'll come talk to you when he gets back."

They followed him once again. Backlash and Aphedria disappeared into their rooms as they arrived to them, leaving Charm alone with Pyro while he took her to her room.

"Your friends are leaving you alone with a strange mutant in a secret underground liar?" Pyro commented, a slightly wicked glint in his eyes.

"I'm a big girl, sweetie, I can take care of myself." Charm said. "Besides, we only really hang out together because it's convenient."

Pyro chose to ignore her flirting and said, "If you're going to be teaming up with us, you better be doing it for something besides convenience."

Charm laughed. "Don't worry about my loyalties, honey. I wouldn't be here if I believed anything else. There are more important things, you know. Like where your room is."

He glared at her. "Stop calling me nicknames. It's Pyro."

"Don't take it so personal, hon, I do it to everyone." She said.

Pyro shrugged. "I don't care. It's irritating."

She grinned. "I know."

He stopped in front a door. "This is your room."

"Thanks, hon." Charm told him, reaching past him to turn the knob.

He snapped open the lighter almost without realizing it, but he knew his hand was covered with flames when he grabbed her wrist. "I said don't do that."

She looked down at her hand, then met his eyes. "I know a random comment about the double meanings of the word 'hot' would be cliché, but I'm tempted to do it, anyway. Just for you, dear."

Pyro held her gaze, not wanting to be the first one to look away. Finally, Charm glanced back down at her hand. He followed her eyes, and realized that he was holding onto a shimmering layer of red that was now surrounding her arm. Pyro could look through it, enough to see his handprint burned around her wrist.

"I'm sending you the medical bill, Pyro." She told him, then pulled open her door and walked in. She turned around to close the door, but paused for a moment to grin at him. "And I'm expecting a personal escort to the medical facilities later, hon." Charm shut the door in his face before he could answer, leaving him to be sort of glad she didn't know where his room was.

* * *

"This sucks. Why are all the cute guys taken?" Rachel muttered.

"Or gay. Some of the cute guys are gay." Samantha added helpfully.

"You're really not helping, you know." Rachel told her.

"What about gay guys?" Zephyr called from the shower.

Rachel and Samantha were standing in the hallway talking, while Zephyr was taking a shower and trying to remain in the conversation. Cassandra had come by earlier to tell them about Bobby and Rogue dating, but she had gone off to look at the track. Anorra was currently in the Danger Room, making her the first one of them to actually participate in it. They were planning on jumping her after she was finished to see what it was like.

"We're still talking about Bobby." Samantha said.

"Wait, Bobby's gay?" Zephyr asked. "I thought he was dating Rogue."

Samantha started laughing, leaning against the wall for support.

"No, Bobby's not gay. Sam's being stupid. Like usual." Rachel said.

"You're just mad because your midnight naked buddy has a girlfriend." Samantha commented.

Rachel blushed darkly. "Why did I tell you guys about that?"

"Because you have to tell us. We would have found out, anyway." Zephyr said.

"Found out about what?" Piotr asked as he walked up behind them.

"Um." Samantha said, trying to think of something. "Found out about…the wall."

"Yes." Rachel agreed. "The wall. It's a very pretty wall."

"Wall? Did we do a subject change again?" Zephyr called again. "When did we stop talking about Bobby?"

Piotr raised an eyebrow. "You…um…three were discussing Bobby?"

"No, of course not. We were talking about walls." Samantha said, then raised her voice. "Don't you think the walls are lovely here, _Piotr_!"

"Oh! Yes. Walls." Zephyr agreed hurriedly. "Hi, Piotr."

Piotr blinked, too distracted by the fact that he was speaking to a woman who was currently taking a shower to comment on the strangeness of their conversation. "Um, hello, Zephyr." He shook his head. "If you ladies will excuse me, I have a Danger Room session with Telepsa."

Samantha's eyes lit up. "You guys are fighting together?"

Piotr nodded. "Yes. We have similar talents in that we can both withstand more damage than average. Storm mentioned a rockslide."

"So…there are going to be two shiny people running around in the middle of falling rocks?" Samantha asked.

He smiled, looking amused. "Da. You really enjoy things that are shiny."

Samantha beamed. "We have to watch them!"

"Wait! I wanna watch them, too!" Zephyr shouted.

"I'll wait here." Rachel offered. "You go get Cass, she'd kill us if we watched the shiny without her."

"Good point. I'd like to not die before I get to paint the pretty." Samantha agreed.

"I would walk with you, Samantha, but I would not want to keep Telepsa waiting." Piotr told them.

"Don't worry, big guy, it's fine." Samantha told him, patting him on the arm. "I'll see you guys there."

* * *

Telepsa shifted slightly, adjusting her leather pants. They hadn't officially become part of the X-men team yet, so they didn't have their own uniforms. But apparently Danger Room sessions required them, so she was wearing one of Rogue's shirt and a pair of Nightcrawler's pants. The pants didn't fit him anymore, since he had worn them in the rain and they had gotten shrunk. Then they had washed them so she could wear them, trying to shrink them more. They were still a bit too big, though, so she was wearing a belt in order to hold them up. She would have been wearing Rogue's pants as well, but Rogue didn't have a hole in her pants for a tail. And since Telepsa had opted to shift halfway into her dragon form, she now had a tail, as well as fangs and claws. The muscles in her arm had grown slightly in order to support the claws on her hands, making the leather sleeves a bit uncomfortable. She hoped Rogue wouldn't be too upset if she ended up ripping them. Telepsa made a mental note to ask them for a sleeveless shirt when they finally did get their own uniforms.

She was currently standing in front of the door to the Danger Room, waiting for Storm to open it. Supposedly Telepsa was going to have a partner, too, but she hadn't seen anyone yet. She was actually really looking forward to this. It was exciting, the thought of being able to use her abilities in such a high-tech surrounding. She couldn't wait to see what Storm had in store for her.

"Hello, Telepsa." Colossus greeted as he stepped up next to her. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I ran into your friends in the hall. They were discussing walls, and not Bobby."

Telepsa froze. This was her partner? It would have been really nice to know this beforehand. She probably wouldn't have shown up. As it was, she was trying to think of a reason to fade quickly into the background and just hope he wouldn't notice.

Unfortunately, the doors picked that moment to open, and Colossus smiled at her.

"It is time, da?" He told her. "Do not worry, you will do fine. I will be watching out for you."

He disappeared inside and Telepsa stared after him, trying not to notice how well his sleeveless shirt showed off his muscular arms. Before she realized it, she was following him, and then the doors were shut behind her and her chance to flee was gone.

She looked around her, senses on hyper alert as she took in her surroundings. The two of them were standing on a small dirt path. A steep cliff loomed to the right of them, and some of the rocks embedded in it didn't look entirely stable. To their left was an equally as steep drop.

"Welcome to your first Danger Room session, Telepsa." Storm's voice sounded through the air. "Your object is simple, find the victim and get him back safely. Ready?"

Without waiting for an answer, the session started up. The ground below her began to shake, and Colossus shifted into his metal form.

"Are you with me, Telepsa?" He asked.

Telepsa nodded, her eyes darted around her. "With you." She answered absently.

The two of them started down the dirt path, walking carefully as the ground continued to shake. Once a large tremor shook the earth, and Telepsa would have stumbled had Colossus not placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her. She glanced up at him, then blushed at realizing how close they were to each other.

"Um. Uh, thanks." Telepsa murmured.

"Do not mention it. I think we better be on our guard, da? It seems to be getting worse." Colossus said.

They continued forward, but this time Colossus was walking closer to her. Telepsa could feel him next to her, even though they weren't technically touching, and she was trying really hard not to let it distract her. It didn't work very well, though, since suddenly his hand was over hers and he was pulling her towards him. He held her close to his chest as a huge boulder slammed into the ground where she had been before. Damn. She really needed to focus. When he had released her and they started forward once more, she made it a point to not look at him, completely focusing in on her surroundings.

Which was a very good thing, since it meant she was able to see the section of the cliff Colossus was standing over begin to shift. He must have not noticed, though, as he stopped right below it and pointed down the drop to their left.

"The…" He started, but didn't finish since he was cut off by the sound of the cliff falling apart.

Without even thinking about it, Telepsa lunged for him, tackling him. She pushed him out of the way of the biggest rocks, but unfortunately, those rocks started a landslide. Before she could climb off of Colossus, the two of them were buried, and she was pinned on top of him. Her eyes met his and, startled, she reverted back to her human form. Which, of course, didn't exactly help the situation.

"Um. Um." Telepsa stammered, trying to decide if moving would make the situation better or worse.

"Thank you." Colossus told her, the metal on his cheeks turning a bit pink. "I apologize for the awkward situation."

"You, uh. I." She started, but really couldn't finish. She just didn't know what to say. Because as awkward as the current situation was, she couldn't say she completely hated it. Aside from the pain in her back where the rocks had hit her and were currently resting, it wasn't the worst place she had ever been.

She must have winced or something, since Colossus frowned. "Are you all right?"

"I'm okay." She answered quickly.

"I could attempt to dig us out, but I believe I may hurt you more. And…." He trailed off, blushing. He wasn't really in a position where he could move without some slightly inappropriate touching.

"I'm okay." Telepsa repeated. She really should think of something intelligent to say. Beyond wishing she could get out of here.

"Storm will have cancelled the session." Colossus said. "The rocks were not so numerous as they appeared. We will be free before long."

Telepsa nodded her head. She could already feel some of the pressure on her back lessening. It took about five minutes, but finally they had been dug out. As the last rock was lifted off of them, Telepsa glanced up to see Storm, Cassandra, Samantha, Zephyr, and Rachel looking worriedly at them. The five women relaxed slightly at seeing Telepsa and Colossus were all right.

Cassandra gave them a slightly wicked grin. "Did you guys want us to just leave you in there?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Are you sure you are all right, Anorra?" Piotr asked as they stood outside of the Danger Room. The others were standing a bit away, waiting for Piotr and Anorra to finish talking.

Anorra nodded, her eyes not meeting his. "I'm okay." She was pretty sure she had said that a few times already, but it wasn't her fault he kept asking questions that would have the same answer.

"That is good. I would not want to be the cause of your pain." Piotr told her. "And it would be a shame to damage such scales. They are pretty, like you."

She blushed darkly, glancing back at her friends. "Thank you. I should, um, go. My friends…"

Piotr nodded. "Da. Next session, maybe I will repay the favor of saving you." He smiled brilliantly at her before walking off down the hall.

Anorra smiled after him, then turned and headed towards her friends, walking as if she were on clouds and humming softly.

"What's up with Anorra?" Cassandra asked.

"She spent five minutes pinned on top of Piotr." Rachel said.

Zephyr blinked, peering closer at Anorra. "Wait, are you humming? Why are you humming 'I Feel Pretty'?"

"Piotr told her she was pretty." Samantha said smugly.

"What? How do you know?" Anorra demanded.

Samantha grinned and pointed to one of her ears. "I hear all."

Cassandra stared at her. "You know, that's a little frightening."

"Yeah, for me. There are some things I don't need to hear." Samantha muttered.

"Um, Anorra?" Rachel said. "You have a hole in your butt."

"Most people do, Rach." Samantha said.

"Ew." Zephyr commented. "That wasn't really necessary, was it?"

"It's in my _pants_, guys, and it was for my _tail_." Anorra said.

"You didn't have a tail when you were on top of Piotr." Cassandra pointed out.

"This is true. So what was the hole for?" Zephyr said. "What were you guys doing down there?"

"Isn't it sort of in the wrong place for that?" Rachel said.

Cassandra grinned. "Not necessarily."

"You guys are really gross." Anorra muttered.

"Are you wearing Nightcrawler's pants?" Samantha asked suddenly.

Anorra stared at her. "Did it take you this long to figure that out?"

"Shut up." Samantha said. "And I want those pants." There was a pause while she got stared at. "What? They touched the pretty! Get out of Kurt's pants!"

"Yes, because I'm wearing something under here that I'm willing to walk around in." Anorra said.

"Samantha's the only one allowed in Kurt's pants, Anorra, didn't you know that?" Cassandra told her.

"Exactly!" Samantha agreed. "So give me the pants!"

There was another pause.

"Um, sweetie, you wanna think about what you just said?" Anorra asked.

Samantha paused, considering that. "Oh, hey! Not like that."

"Yeah, there's really no getting out of that one." Cassandra said.

"No, there really isn't. Sam wants to be in Kurt's pants." Rachel agreed.

"Awww. Look! Sam's blushing!" Zephyr said, pointing.

"I am not!" Samantha insisted, despite the fact that she obviously was. "I just think he's pretty. It's not like I really know him or anything."

"Right." Cassandra said. "That's why you want to get in his pants, instead of marry him."

"You guys suck." Samantha muttered. "I'm going to my room."

"Your room or Kurt's room?" Cassandra asked.

Samantha stuck her tongue out at them. "I don't even know where his room is. And I wouldn't go there if I did!"

"Yes you would." Rachel said.

Samantha frowned. "Well, maybe. But not for _that _reason."

"Okay, Sam. We believe you." Anorra said in another one of those 'she's crazy, let's agree with her' tones.

"Why am I the only one getting those tones here?" Samantha asked.

"Uh, because you're the only one who's demanding people's pants?" Zephyr suggested.

"It wasn't a demand." Samantha said. "It was a request."

"Yelling at me to give you my pants is not a request." Anorra said.

"They're not _your_ pants." Samantha clarified. "They're Kurt's."

"Really, guys, we just need to find Kurt's room and shove her in there. Maybe then she'll shut up about the pants." Cassandra said.

"No, then she'll talk even more about how she got to be in 'the pretty's' room." Rachel countered.

"Okay, now I'm really going to my room." Samantha said.

And this time, she actually did. Of course, that may have been because they had been walking back to their rooms during the conversation and had only now reached them. Whatever the case, she disappeared into her room and shut the door behind her, leaving them to move their teasing back to Anorra and then on to Rachel.

* * *

Zephyr leaned over and turned off the shower, stopping the spray of hot water. Her friends were all hanging out in their rooms, finishing the last bit of unpacking or moving onto decorating stage of moving in. She hadn't taken a shower yet that day, though, and she wanted get one in before dinner. They had regular mealtimes here, when huge meals were served and everyone gathered in the huge cafeteria-like dining room. Zephyr and the rest of her friends had slept through breakfast that morning, and then had been unpacking during lunch, but they were all going to make it to dinner.

Which meant Zephyr was going to shower. Because meeting a bunch of new people, some of whom were bound to be cute guys, required showering. She was in the process of toweling off when the curtain to her shower stall was suddenly yanked open. Startled, she stood there with a towel in one hand and stared blankly at the person standing before her.

Despite the fact that this was the women's showers, the one who had pulled open the curtain was very obviously male. He was tall, muscular, and had short reddish brown hair that fell into his red and black eyes. A blue towel was wrapped around his waist, but he wasn't wearing anything else.

The man let out a curse in French. "This isn't the men's showers?"

That woke her up enough to start screaming, but she still didn't think to cover herself.

"Non, petite, non." He said quickly, trying to reassure her. "See, look, you and Gambit are even." He dropped his towel to the ground.

"Uhh…we'll just leave you alone, then." Samantha commented from behind them.

Gambit and Zephyr turned around to find Samantha, Anorra, Cassandra, and Rachel staring at them. They had probably been drawn in by the sound of Zephyr's screaming.

"Damn. The new guy's hot as hell." Cassandra said, tilting her head to look at him.

"And we're leaving now. Far, far away." Anorra said.

"I second that." Rachel agreed.

The four of them turned and fled, leaving Gambit and Zephyr to scramble to get their towels back around them.

"Gambit is so sorry, petite. No one has told him which showers are which." He told her.

"Um, it's okay. I, um." Zephyr stuttered, trying to think of something to say to the man who had just seen her naked. And who she had just seen naked.

"Seems only fitting that Gambit learns your name, since he knows you better than he knows anyone else here." Gambit said.

"Zephyr. My name's Zephyr." She murmured. "Nice to meet you."

Gambit grinned at her. "And more, non?"

Fortunately, she was saved from making a response by the sound of Samantha yelling, "Naked man in the girl's showers!"

"Best Gambit be leaving, petite, before the both of us get in trouble." He winked at her, then quickly exited the shower.

Zephyr waited a moment so he would be gone before she followed him out, only to find her friends grinning at her.

"Best way to meet the new guy ever." Cassandra said cheerfully.

* * *

After the teasing of Zephyr had finally stopped, at least momentarily, Cassandra, Samantha, Rachel, Anorra, and Zephyr had headed downstairs and claimed a table for themselves so they could eat dinner and gossip randomly.

"You think Gambit's taken?" Cassandra asked wistfully. "Cause, really. Damn. He's almost as hot as Logan."

"I dunno, Cass, I think he might be." Samantha said.

Cassandra frowned at her. "Why?"

"It might just be me, but I think he and Zephyr really shared something back there." Samantha replied.

"Awww, you're right." Cassandra said, pouting. "Oh, well. At least there's still Logan."

"Are you guys ever going to drop that?" Zephyr asked.

"Sweetie, we found you naked in the shower with a naked man. No, they're never going to drop it." Anorra told her.

"No, we're really not." Samantha agreed. "If you guys can tease me a bunch just for wanting Kurt's pants, then we're going to tease you endlessly for actually being naked with the new French teacher."

"And you just made it even more dirty." Cassandra said. "Now Zephyr's having naked time with the French teacher."

"They're daytime naked buddies!" Samantha said with a grin. "Now we have midnight naked buddies and daytime naked buddies."

There was a pause while they waited for Rachel to object, then, when she didn't say anything after awhile, they finally looked over at her and realized she was staring absently at the table where Bobby and Rogue were sitting.

"Aw, Rach…" Samantha said. "You really like him, don't you?"

"What?" Rachel asked, then blushed. "No! I don't even know him. He's just cute. And kinda sweet. And he liked my tattoo."

"Don't worry, there are plenty of other guys here." Zephyr told her.

"And at least one of them is bound to be single." Anorra agreed.

"Like Xavier!" Cassandra suggested. "I'm sure he's free. You can have him."

There was a very long period of silence. Then Samantha announced, "Ewwwww! Oh, God, Eww. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad mental picture. Cass, I hate you so incredibly much."

The four others burst out laughing.

"What was it?" Cassandra asked.

"You don't want to know." Samantha said. "You really, really don't want to know. Seriously, _I _don't want to know. It's still there! Ahh! Get it out!"

There was more laughing, then conversation picked up again. They didn't get very for before Samantha and Rachel got an announcement from Xavier in their heads.

_Samantha, Rachel. Detention, tomorrow at noon, outside of classroom A. _

"What? What did we do?" Samantha asked.

"I have it on good authority that you have no evidence!" Rachel said.

Zephyr, Anorra, and Cassandra stared at them.

"Uh, what are you guys talking about?" Anorra asked.

"We got detention tomorrow!" Rachel answered.

"He can't give me detention. I'm twenty-two!" Samantha said.

"Apparently he can." Cassandra said.

Samantha frowned, crossing her arms. "This sucks."

* * *

Backlash opened the fridge, looking around to see if there was anything good enough to snack on. It was about dinner time, but she didn't feel like an actual meal. Fortunately, she located a container of strawberries and pulled them out. She sat down at one of the tables, then, kicking her feet up on the surface as she munched away. Before long, Toad sauntered into the kitchen and Backlash raised an eyebrow, looking him over.

"You one of the newbies?" Toad asked in a distinct lower-class British accent. "Need someone to show you the ropes?"

"Not you." Backlash told him, eating another strawberry.

"I'm the best one, luv. Been here the longest, besides Sabretooth and Magneto himself." Toad said. "So unless you want the fuzzball, looks like you're with me."

"I'm with no one, frog, least of all you." Backlash said.

He hopped up on the table, crouching next to her. "The name's Toad."

"Frog, toad." Backlash said with a shrug. "What's the difference."

"Give me an hour and I can show you." Toad said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Toad, stop hitting on the new mutants." Pyro said, walking into the kitchen.

Toad glared at him. "Don't order me around, kid."

"Backlash, if he bothers you, hurt him as much as you want. Just try not to kill him." Pyro told her.

"If he bothers me enough there won't be anything left of him." Backlash said, picking up her container of strawberries and storming out.

"You chased her away, fire boy." Toad muttered, then hopped off the table and began looking through the fridge.

Pyro shook his head and grabbed a bottle of soda from the cupboard, then left for his room. As he approached it, though, his door shook slightly. Instantly on guard, Pyro grabbed his lighter and slowly turned the doorknob, peering cautiously inside. He relaxed only slightly when he saw Charm, sitting on the end of his bed. Her legs were crossed and she was leaning back slightly, head tilted as she watched him come in.

"How'd you find my room?" Pyro asked.

"I asked the walls." Charm said. "I told you I was expecting an escort." She grinned. "Although since we're alone, hon, I can probably be persuaded to do another things instead."

"Yeah?" Pyro challenged, a cocky smile on his face. "Like what?"

"You sure you want the answer to that, honey?" Charm asked, standing.

They had a staring contest again and, like before, Charm was the first one to break away. This time, though, instead of glancing down she moved forwards, pressing her lips against his. Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. Surprised, Pyro froze for a moment, then went with it, slipping his own arms around her waist. After a moment, Charm grinned and pulled back.

"There, now, was that so bad?" Charm asked.

"No, I was damn good." Pyro said.

Charm laughed. "True. You were. And now, escort. Because as much as I love your hands on me, hon, I don't want a permanent scar."

Amused, Pyro made an 'after you' gesture and then followed her out, closing the door behind them. As he led her to the medical facilities, he made a mental note to talk to Magneto about just the kind of mutants he was planning on letting in.

* * *

Rachel gave a sleepy yawn as she walked back from the bathroom. She was only wearing a blue bra and a pair of matching underwear, which probably wasn't the best outfit for walking around the hall, but it was about the same time that she had run into Bobby last night and she figured there was no way it could happen again. The whole lightning never hit the same spot twice thing.

Except that lightning really did hit the same spot twice, and as soon as she turned the corner to go back into her room, she ran into Bobby on his way to the shower. Unfortunately, this time they didn't see each other in enough time and crashed right into each other. They ended up on the floor in a tangle of limbs. As they tried to untangle themselves, the towel around Bobby's waist fell loose and there was a brief moment when there was some very inappropriate touching. It was over quickly, though, and then the two of them were separated once more. They stood up quickly and Bobby hastily tightened the towel around his waist.

"Looks like this is starting to be a tradition, doesn't it?" Bobby said, attempting a joking grin.

"It really does." Rachel said, blushing. "And here I was thinking I was safe."

"Safe?" Bobby asked.

"Um, you know, since this happened last night at pretty much the same time." Rachel tried to explain. "So it, um, couldn't happen again?"

Bobby laughed. "Well, it was good logic. Wait, you were avoiding me?"

"No!" Rachel said, a little too fast. "I mean, not avoiding. Just, not wanting to run into you half naked again and give my friends more fuel."

"They teased you about last night, huh? Pete and Rogue did teased me, too." Bobby said, shaking his head with a slightly amused smile on his face. "You know, you guys should hang out with us more. Rogue could use some more girl friends, and I think Pete likes your friend Anorra. He went on about how pretty her silver scales were for about ten minutes."

"Really?" Rachel asked, giving a grin. "Did he tell you about the Danger Room session where she was pinned on top of him?"

The two of them ended up talking for nearly half an hour before Rachel happened to glance down and remember that Bobby was still in his towel.

"Oh. Um, you should probably go take a shower before it's actually time to wake up." Rachel told him.

Bobby blushed, then grinned. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. You guys will join us for breakfast tomorrow though, right?"

Rachel nodded. "Sure. See you then."

* * *

**Author's Note:** At the bottom this time, because I said so. Flames arebad, stupid, and result in "engorfing." And, Megan, this is what happens when you see X-3 without us. Haha. Ha. We win. 


	5. The cuteness!

**Author's Note: **Blarg. Lazy and burnt out from writing this chapter. No clever jokes about flames and the chest. Maybe one about the unibrow of doom. Umm…nope. Sorry. And not much Rachel, either, because I ran out of stuff for her and Bobby to do on their midnight meetings of naked-ness.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

It was early. Very, very early. Cassandra couldn't remember ever being up this early. Unless maybe it was a case where she had stayed up all night and had gone to bed around this time. But she had never woken up this early. And only the fact that she was going to spend time with Logan that had made her wake up. She liked him, for some odd reason, and she was in someway hoping that maybe if she spent enough time around him, he'd figure out what her powers were. And then learn what she had been trying to tell him yesterday. She kind of doubted it, though. Cassandra had been hanging out with her friends for a long time, and none of them had figured it out yet. She was beginning to wonder if the part of her power that made her unable to tell anyone about it also made it so no one else could figure it out.

She passed by her friend's rooms as she headed to the Danger Room and looked jealously at their closed doors. Stupid other people, getting to sleep in. Next time she had a Danger Room session with Logan, Cassandra was going insist on a decent hour. Like noon. Yeah, that was a more sane time of the day.

It was a few minutes past nine when she arrived, so Logan was already waiting for her in front of the Danger Room.

"You're late." He growled.

"You're lucky I'm awake." Cassandra retorted. "I can't believe you actually get up this early."

"I don't need much sleep." Logan said.

"Me, neither. Doesn't mean I don't want it." Cassandra paused for a moment. "Well, sometimes I don't want it. But then my friends make me sleep anyway, so it doesn't really matter."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "You talk a lot, kid."

"Yup." Cassandra agreed. "Well, you're not contributing anything to the conversation. I have to talk enough for the both of us. And I'm not a kid."

He shook his head. "Come on. We're going to the gym."

"Gym?" Cassandra asked. "What happened to the Danger Room?"

"This is your first lesson. I'm not going to try and teach you how to defend yourself with things attacking us." Logan said, walking away.

Cassandra pouted, then hurried to catch up with him. "No fair. Anorra got to go in the Danger Room."

"You said you didn't know anything, so I'm starting from the beginning." Logan said.

She considered that. "Well, Sam does martial arts. And Anorra does dance. Oh, and Zephyr does dance, too! And she and Sam do gymnastics. So I've gone to a couple of lessons with them. Does that count?"

"I don't know." He said, opening the door to the gym. "We'll find out."

The floor of the gym was covered with black mats. Mirrors lined the walls of the giant room, and a good part of the far right side was filled with various weight lifting equipment. There were some gymnastic materials on the far left, but the rest of the room was wide open.

"All right. We're going to work on defense." Logan said.

"I want to learn how to fight." Cassandra said.

Logan shrugged. "My main concern is making it so you don't die. We're learning defense."

And so they learned defense. Because there really was no arguing with Logan. Besides, he was right, anyway. Not that Cassandra would admit that aloud, though.

Logan spent nearly an hour teaching her how to fend off someone attacking her from in front of her. When she thought they were done, Cassandra started up a conversation again. She was in the middle of saying something to him when he lunged at her, trying to knock her off her feet with a low, sweeping kick. She let out a small "eep" and promptly forgot just about everything he taught her. Logan kicked her feet out from under her and she went crashing to the ground. As she was falling, though, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down with her. He landed on top of her, his body pressed against hers.

Cassandra's wide violet eyes met his own hazel ones, and then calmed slightly. For a very long moment, the two of them stayed like that, Logan on top of her with her hand clutching his shirt and their eyes locked together. Cassandra suddenly found herself unable to breathe properly, and she wasn't entirely sure it was just because of the weight on her lungs.

Logan was just as frozen as she was, although he didn't have the sudden shortness of breath. He did, however, have a brief moment of clarity, like he was realizing something. It was fleeting, though, and gone before he could figure out what exactly it was or even if it had really happened. They might have stayed like that, too, if Logan hadn't smelled Anorra coming into the room. He stood up quickly, brushing himself off, then offered a hand to help Cassandra up.

Anorra backed away slowly, not saying anything and most likely hoping no one had noticed her. Cassandra didn't seem to, since she accepted Logan's hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"You did good, Cassandra." Logan said, his voice slightly gruff. "But you need to work on keeping what you learn when you need it."

"I know, I know." Cassandra said, blushing slightly. "I'll try. And it'll help, you teaching me."

Logan looked at her. "You want to make this a regular thing, then?"

Cassandra nodded. "If you don't mind. I need the training, and it's not like I'm opposed to spending time with you."

He raised an eyebrow at her while he considered, then finally shrugged. "You do need the training. We'll meet again tomorrow night sometime. I'll come get you."

Her eyes lit up, and before she realized what she was doing her arms were around him and she was hugging him. Surprised, Logan gave her a sort of awkward pat on the back until she let go.

"Sorry." Cassandra said. "Um, little too excited there."

Logan shrugged. "It happens. Just try not to do it again." He wasn't going to admit to the fact that he didn't exactly mind. Not even to himself, not yet. "I'll see you tomorrow, Cassandra."

He was halfway out of the door when Cassandra noticed something and called, "What happened to kid?"

Logan paused at the door, glancing back at her. "You ain't one." He vanished, then, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Samantha sat on her bed, her legs dangling over the end. She was kicking them back and forth absently as she contemplated whether or not it would be worth it to try and go back to sleep. A bird had tumbled into her window that morning around 7:30, his wing limp and his thoughts panicked. She had calmed him down and splinted the wing, and he was now resting peacefully in a shoebox lined with a soft cotton towel. It was just past eight now and breakfast wasn't until ten on weekends, so if she tried she could probably get another hour or hour and a half of sleep.

Finally she gave up on the idea and slid off of her bed, moving over to her closet to grab some closed. After she was dressed, she checked on the bird one last time before heading out of her room. She wandered up and down the hallway a bit, half hoping she would run into someone. She then turned and headed past the women's showers, the stairs, and the men's showers. Another right turn brought her into the right wing of her floor, a place she had yet to explore. It looked pretty much the same as the left wing, unfortunately, giving her nothing new to do. The only difference was that there were three rooms on each side of the hall here instead of four. Which meant the rooms here were probably a bit bigger. Must be why the actual X-men were here, while the more junior members of the X-men and the X-men in-training got the left wing.

Samantha giggled suddenly as it occurred to her that the abbreviation of X-men in-training was XIT. She'd have to remember to inform her friends that they were zits later.

A door opened, then, making her jump slightly. Kurt walked out of his room, closing the door behind him. He was dressed nicely, in a pair of black slacks and a dark blue button-up, long-sleeved shirt.

"Morning, Kurt." Samantha greeted, giving him a smile.

He turned to face her, then smiled in return, although his was a little shy. "Guten Morgen. Up early today?"

Samantha nodded. "It wasn't exactly planned. There was a bird with a broken wing who was kind of panicked. It's hard to sleep when someone's crying in your head." She grinned a bit.

"You speak with birds?" Kurt asked.

"Yup. Birds, and most other animals, too." She said.

"It must be wonderful to hold conversations with animals." Kurt said. "I have always wondered what they might say, had they the chance."

Samantha smiled. "It is wonderful. And you can come with me to talk to them sometime, if you want. I mean, I can translate."

"I think I would like that." He said with a smile, then thought of something. "The bird, is he all right?"

"He's fine." Samantha replied, oddly pleased that Kurt had asked about him. "He's all bandaged up and resting."

Kurt nodded. "Good. Well, I would love to speak with you more, but I'm afraid I have to leave you. I'm on my way to mass."

Samantha tilted her head. "You're going to church? Can I, um, come with you?"

Kurt's eyes lit up. "You are Catholic?"

"Not really." Samantha admitted. "But my parents are, and I used to love going to church with them."

"Ahh." Kurt said. "Yes, of course. You are welcome to come with me any time. I would enjoy the company."

Samantha grinned, then glanced down at her jeans and tee-shirt. "Do I have time to change real quick?"

Kurt considered, then nodded. "I can take a short cut. I will meet you at the bottom of the stairs."

"Thanks. See you in a few." Samantha told him, then dashed off into her room. She changed into a sleeveless lavender silk blouse and a long black skirt with a slit the came to just above her knees. Her hair was given a quick brush, then she added light purple heels and started out of her room. Thinking better of it, though, she paused to write a quick note to her friends, which she taped on her door.

_Morning!_

_Went to church._ _Might not be back in time for breakfast. _

_Sorry! _

_Love you guys!_

_Sam_

With that, she grabbed her purse and headed downstairs, smiling at Kurt as she stopped next to him.

"Ready." She told him.

"You look nice." Kurt commented as they began walking, then blushed. "I mean, the clothes. They are perfect, for church."

Samantha gave a bit of a grin. "Thanks. Um, you, too. Clothes. And, you just look nice. In general."

His blush darkened. "Danke."

"Bitte shon." She replied.

Kurt looked at her. "You speak German?"

Samantha shook her head. "Not really. Anorra and Cassandra do, though, so I've picked up a few things. I'd love to learn it, though."

"I could teach you." Kurt suggested, then blushed again. "If you wish."

"That'd be great!" She said, sounding excited. Maybe a little too excited, but he didn't seem to notice. "And it makes sense, 'cause, you know, you are the German teacher."

Kurt laughed. "That's true. And a very good point."

They reached the front door and he opened it, holding it for her.

"Thanks." She told him, smiling, then glanced around the front yard. "Um, which way to the garage again?"

Kurt grinned at her. "We don't need a car."

"We don't?" Samantha asked, confused.

"We don't. I have a faster way of getting there." A mischievous glint appeared in his gold eyes. "Do you mind trying something new?"

"Not at all." She replied, grinning back at him. "Just tell me what to do."

Kurt offered his hand to her. "Take my hand."

She took it and he drew her close, slipping his other arm around her shoulders.

"Hold onto me." He told her, then added softly, "Don't be afraid."

"I'm not." Samantha replied, looking into his eyes.

There was a bamfing sound accompanied by a slight sulfuric smell, and Samantha felt a brief moment of disorientation as if her senses were cut off from the rest of the world. Then everything cleared, except for a small cloud of smoke and the lingering sulfur scent. She glanced around them and realized they were now standing in a small alley.

Her gaze moved back to his face. "You can teleport? That's so cool!"

"It does serve its purposes." Kurt agreed.

He took his arm off of her shoulders and she let go of his hand. Sometime before or during their jump, his tail had wound itself around her left thigh, and neither of them noticed it until she took a step forward. Then, he blushed and uncurled it.

"Tut mir leid." Kurt told her. "I didn't realize that had happened."

"I didn't either, so don't worry about it." Samantha said. "Besides, I like the tail, so it's not like I…I'm gonna shut up now before I say anything to make me sound even more like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot." He said, shaking his head. Not for telling him that she actually liked his tail. That surprised him, almost as much as she had when she willingly offered to shake his hand. He had yet to see any indication that his looks offset her.

She smiled at him. "Thanks. I'm not entirely sure that it's true, but I appreciate you saying that. So, um, where's the church?"

"Oh! Yes, we better hurry or we might be late." Kurt said, then fiddled with his watch. He flickered for a moment, then was gone. In his place stood a normal looking human, wearing Kurt's clothing and with tan skin, black hair, and hazel eyes. "Image inducer." Kurt told Samantha when he saw her staring. "It's easier to remain unnoticed this way. It's only a hologram, though, so I must be careful not to bump into anyone."

Samantha tilted her head, then reached out her hand and rested it against his cheek. She could still feel the soft coating of fur that lay over his skin and the scar from one of his tattoos under it. She smiled, then, and pulled her hand away.

"Just checking." Samantha told him. "It's a good disguise, even if it's not you."

"Not me?" Kurt asked, looking confused.

"You look weird without the blue and gold." She replied. "Not bad, just different. Although I like you better the way you really are. So, church?"

Kurt stared at her for a moment before he gave a smile and offered his arm to her. She grinned and slipped her arm through his, then the two of them headed towards the church.

* * *

"Oh, wow." Zephyr murmured, her eyes widening.

She had gone to see Xavier about getting some more advanced pilot lessons from Storm before her first class on Wednesday. There was already someone in the office, though, apparently the newest member to their team. He had a bag with him that looked hastily packed, since there was a shirt sleeve hanging out of one end. He was also the most beautiful man Zephyr had ever seen. His eyes were an incredibly deep blue, hidden a bit by some strands of his short blonde hair. But what had made her gasp were the white feathered wings that grew from his back.

"Zephyr," Xavier greeted, causing the winged young man's attention to turn towards her. "This is Warren Worthington. Warren, this is Zephyr. She arrived a few days ago."

"Hey, Warren." Zephyr greeted. "Welcome to the institute."

"Thanks." Warren said, giving a shy smile.

"Zephyr, Warren's going to be living on your floor, in room 314. Would you mind showing him there?" Xavier asked. "Or did you need something?"

"Hmm?" Zephyr asked, then shook her head without taking her eyes off of Warren. "Oh, no. Nothing too important. I can take him up. Now?"

"Yes, I believe our talk is done." Xavier said. "Warren, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't." Warren said. "Thank you, Professor." His voice was filled with so much gratitude that it made Zephyr wonder what had happened to make him come here in such a hurry.

Zephyr led Warren out of the office and headed towards the third floor.

"It's nice to meet you, Warren." Zephyr told him. "Do you know anyone here yet?"

Warren shook his head. "I landed in the middle of a baseball game, but the Professor sensed my arrival and came to get me, so I didn't have a chance to talk to anyone."

"My friends and I just got here, too." Zephyr said. "You can hang out with us, if you want. Or at least eat lunch with us. Then Bobby and Piotr won't be stuck with so many girls."

"I wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable." Warren said shyly.

Zephyr frowned. "Why would you make anyone uncomfortable?"

"My wings." Warren replied. "They seem to distract people."

Zephyr smiled. "Don't worry about that. My friend Anorra's completely covered with silver scales, Piotr sometimes has metal skin, and Sam's been known to sprout wings herself. We won't mind."

"Really?" Warren asked. "You were sort of staring before. I thought maybe I was freaking you out."

Zephyr blushed. "Oh, that. Sorry about that. It's just…Okay, really corny, but you kinda look like an Angel. I wasn't freaked out at all. Your wings are gorgeous."

"Angel?" Warren blinked, considering that. He then blushed slightly. "Thank you. You're the first one who's ever told me that."

Zephyr looked surprised. "Well, whoever said different is wrong. You're beautiful."

Warren blushed darker. "If everyone's as nice as you here, I'm going to really enjoy it."

"Oh, don't worry, everyone is." Zephyr said, trying to hide her own blush. "But don't mind if they tease you. They do it a lot, especially to people they like."

Warren nodded. "I'll remember that. Xavier said you lived on the third floor?"

"Yeah, I do." She agreed. "I'll show you my room on the way."

They chatted a bit more until they reached the top of the stairs.

"Okay, the women's bathrooms and showers are on the right side of the stairs, and the men's are on the left." Zephyr told him. "That's really important to remember."

"I figured." Warren told her, grinning. "Something happen?"

"Rogue was giving the new French teacher a tour, but he irritated her so much that she gave up halfway through and, um, never told him which one was which." She said. "So he sort of walked into the women's when I was taking a shower."

He stifled a laugh. "Now I sort of wish you hadn't told me, so I could use that as an excuse."

Zephyr blushed. "Anyway, um, my room's down that hall, third door on the left."

She led him down the other hall, to the last room on the left side. "And this would be your room." She opened the door. "You want me to help you unpack or anything?"

"It probably won't take that long. I, um, didn't get a chance to pack much." Warren said quietly.

"Left in a hurry?" Zephyr asked, then tried to decide whether or not he wanted to talk about it. Finally, she settled for, "Well, I can help unpack, anyway, or wait. It's almost lunchtime, so maybe I could take you down to the dining hall?"

Warren smiled at her. "Okay. If you don't mind."

* * *

"….the stupidest note in existence, Sam, really." Cassandra was saying at their lunch table.

They were sitting with Bobby, Rogue, and Piotr, like they had at breakfast, except this time Samantha was with them and Zephyr was absent.

"You could have at least told us who you were going with." Cassandra

Samantha stuck her tongue out at them. "I didn't think you needed to know that information."

"Then you shouldn't have said you had randomly decided to go to church." Rachel said.

"Yeah, the only one who goes to church on our floor is Kurt." Bobby agreed. "That was pretty much a give away."

"Which Bobby told us." Anorra said.

"Because Bobby is the best." Rachel agreed.

"You're just saying that because you're midnight naked buddies." Rogue commented.

Samantha beamed at her. "Rogue, you rock."

They had mentioned the midnight naked buddy thing at breakfast and, apparently, Rogue found it utterly entertaining. True, she had been a little jealous at first, but when the topic had changed to Gambit and his lack of knowing where the women's bathroom was, Rogue had found the jealousy fading into amusement.

The conversation divided, then, with Rogue, Samantha, and Cassandra chatting about Gambit, Kurt, and churches, Bobby and Rachel talking about tennis, and Piotr and Anorra discussing a few of the current movies. Anorra was still pretty shy around him, but she was managing to make responses that were at least full sentences.

"Hey! Who's the guy Zephyr's walking in with?" Samantha asked suddenly.

Their eyes turned towards the entrance of the room to see Zephyr coming into the room, talking to a young man with wings.

"I dunno, but he's hot, too." Cassandra said. "What's with all the new hot guys?"

"And why is Zephyr taking them all?" Rogue asked.

"You know, you have a really good point." Rachel agreed.

"There's always Xavier." Cassandra commented with an evil grin.

"I hate you." Samantha told her. "I just have that mental picture in my head."

"You know, you're making me get really bad thoughts by not telling us what that picture is." Rogue told her.

Samantha shook her head. "Not telling. They'll just tease me more. Because they all hate me. Nobody loves me."

Cassandra started laughing. "Nobody loves Eeyore." She quoted.

Apparently, Samantha found that hilarious, because she burst into laughter. She and Cassandra spent about five minutes cracking up hysterically, then Samantha suddenly jumped up. Her body shifted, and in her place stood a small black donkey.

The donkey sat down, casting a forlorn look at them. _Nobody loves Eeyore._ Samantha repeated in the telepathy she only used when in animal form.

Cassandra began laughing harder, while the rest of them either had amused smiles on their faces or were shaking their heads.

"Yeah, they do this a lot." Zephyr told Warren as they sat down. "Just ignore them."

"I assume the donkey's Sam?" Warren asked.

Zephyr nodded. "The one laughing hysterically is Cassandra, the silver one's Anorra, and that's Rachel, Bobby, Rogue, and Piotr." She introduced. "Guys, this is Warren. He's new."

There were various greetings, except for Cassandra and Samantha, who were _still_ laughing.

"Um, do you all know where Samantha is?" Kurt asked as he approached their table.

"Donkey." Rachel commented, pointing at her.

Cassandra managed to calm herself down, and Samantha stopped filling their heads with laughter.

_Oh. Hi, Kurt. Hang on a second, I'll shift back._ Samantha said.

Kurt looked her over. "You're a shapeshifter as well?"

_Yup._ _Only into animals, though. I…_ Her mental voice trailed off as she shifted too far into her human form and could no longer use telepathy. It took longer than turning into a donkey, but eventually she was human again. And wearing only a sports bra and a pair of biker shorts.

Samantha didn't seem to realize this, though, as she asked, "What's up?"

Kurt blushed darkly, his face turning an interesting shade of purple. "Um. I. Um."

"Sam! Put some damn clothes on!" Cassandra hissed.

Samantha's eyes widened. "Oh." She let out a string of curses in Cherokee and looked wildly around as if a solution would suddenly appear out of no where.

Fortunately, it did, as Kurt shrugged out of his coat and draped it over her shoulders. Samantha blushed darker and slipped her arms into the coat, hugging it close to her.

"Thank you." She told him. "Sorry. I can only shift with skintight clothes. Everything else gets trashed."

"It's no problem." Kurt replied. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet me tomorrow, for a German lesson?"

"Sure." Samantha agreed. "That'd be great. What time? I'm doing a sort of informal intro riding lesson tomorrow afternoon, but any other time is great."

"Evening, then? After dinner?" Kurt suggested.

She nodded. "Sounds great. I'll see you then. Um…" She bit her lip. "About the coat…."

"Keep it." He said. "You can give it back to me tomorrow."

Samantha smiled. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

"Bitte shon." Kurt replied, then headed off.

Samantha turned back to her friends, most of who were snickering at her. Cassandra opened her mouth to say something.

"Shut it, you." Samantha ordered. "Nothing. Because you all suck. And you two are midnight naked buddies. And you saw the French teacher naked. And you were the reason behind that. And you two were on top of each other forever. And you were under Logan. And you….Um, I don't know you well enough to know something embarrassing about you. But I'm sure there's something!" She announced. "And, um…yeah. I'm getting dressed now."

Samantha headed up to her room, knowing she was only spared from teasing for the moment. Sure enough, as soon as conversation picked up at the table again it was very insinuating comments about her before they moved on to teasing people who were actually there.

* * *

Anorra was in pain. She had been all day and she had been trying really hard to hide it. Fortunately, it seemed to have worked, but most likely only because the rest of her friends had been so distracted. She wasn't entirely sure she could manage to fool them again tomorrow. Which wasn't actually the issue at hand, though. The main irritation was that she was dead tired, but the pain in her back was making it impossible for her to sleep. Finally at around four in the morning, she had decided to see if taking a hot shower would ease the pain a bit.

Unfortunately, it hadn't really worked. She was on her way back from the shower, still in the same amount of pain as she had been in before, when she ran into Piotr in the hall. Anorra stumbled back a bit and Piotr's arm wrapped around her waist in to steady her. It connected with one of the bruises on her back, though, and she let out a muffled yelp of pain.

Piotr's eyes widened in concern. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Piotr." Anorra told him. "I'm just really tired."

"Will you let me look? Please?" Piotr asked. He could tell she was hurt. He had been watching her during their meals together, and her movements were not as graceful as they usually were. It made him feel incredibly guilty, since he knew he was responsible for it.

Anorra made a shrugging motion with her shoulders, so he gently turned her around and peered at the part of her back that showed above her towel. It was splotched with metallic purple patches that Piotr assumed were bruises and he winced.

"I'm taking you to the medical facilities." Piotr informed her.

"Don't need to." Anorra murmured.

"You must." Piotr told her, then gently scooped her up into his arms. He was very careful to put as little pressure on her bruises as possible.

She made some vague form of protest as he carried her to the medical area, but unless she wanted to change into dragon form, she was really no match for him.

"Beast, you are awake." Piotr said with relief as he walked into the room and saw Beast reading a book. "Anorra needs your help."

"What happened?" Beast asked, hopping down from the ceiling and setting aside his book.

"She was injured in the Danger Room yesterday." Piotr said, laying her down on the table. "She insisted she did not need medical attention."

"I don't." Anorra said, trying to get up. "I'm fine."

"Yes, I can see that." Beast told her. "Now please hold still." He paused. "Piotr, you may wish to avert your eyes while I look at her back."

Piotr obediently turned away as Beast examined Anorra.

"Have you taken anything for the pain?" Beast asked.

"Some Ibuprofen." Anorra said. "It didn't really help. Although that was a couple of hours ago."

Beast nodded. "I'm going to give you something to help with that, and to help you sleep." He pulled out a syringe and injected it into her arm. "And I will give you a balm for your bruises. Hold on a moment and I'll get it."

He disappeared and Anorra reached over to grab Piotr's hand. Piotr looked at her, being sure to keep his gaze on her face.

"Thank you." She told him. "For staying with me."

"It is not a problem." Piotr replied, then moved aside as Beast came back.

Beast carefully applied the balm to her back, then told her to use it a once a day for the two days. He handed the balm to Piotr, as Anorra was already falling asleep.

"Do you need help taking her back upstairs?" Beast asked.

Piotr shook his head. It was his fault she was hurt, after all. "No, I will take her."

He gathered her into his arms again, taking great care once more. When they reached her room, Piotr pulled down the covers of her bed and gently set her on top of the sheets. Averting his eyes, he took away the towel and settled her comforter over her. After he was certain she was as comfortable as possible, he dragged a chair to her bedside and sat down, ready to do what she had thanked him for and stay with her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Something I forgot in the last chapter….Credit goes to Abby for the cute ending scene between Anorra and Piotr. This chapter's shorter than the last one, mainly because I realized I don't have to write out every single little thing that happens during the day. And because I'm tired and have finished writing for the night. Yes. This time, flamers will be sent to Paesha, who will glare them into submission with her angry unibrow and then engorf them with her chest. That is all.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

The sound of knocking startled Piotr out of a half-sleep and he blinked, glancing over at Anorra before standing to answer the door.

"There y….um." Cassandra started, then trailed off, her eyes widening as she saw Piotr.

"Is there, um, a reason why you're in Anorra's room, Pete?" Samantha asked.

Piotr blushed slightly, glancing away for a moment before he looked back at the two of them. "Yes. Anorra was injured more than she let on yesterday. I took her to the medical area late last night."

Samantha's amused smile faded. "What? Is she okay?"

Piotr nodded. "She is fine. Resting. I stayed with her to make sure."

"I'll stay with you." Samantha said, starting for the door.

Cassandra stopped her. "Anorra probably doesn't need more people hovering around her, Sam."

"But…" Samantha started.

"Besides, I'm sure _Piotr_ will do a wonderful job watching out for her." Cassandra said.

"Oh." Samantha said, realizing what she meant. "Okay, you're right."

"Good." Cassandra said, satisfied. "We'll come back after breakfast, Pete."

"Gimme a minute, Cass, I'll see you down there." Samantha told her.

Piotr blinked at Samantha as she turned back at him after Cassandra started off.

"Anorra's one of my best friends, Piotr." Samantha said quietly. "She's really important to me, to us. So take good care of her, okay?"

Piotr looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "I will." He promised.

She smiled, then stood up on her tip-toes to give him a hug. "Thanks, Pete. I had a feeling I could count on you."

He hugged her back, somewhat awkwardly, although he could tell the sentiment was entirely unromantic, which made him feel more at ease. Piotr was reminded of Illyana for a moment.

"I will see you later, Samantha." Piotr told her when she let go.

"Sam." She said, then waved. "We'll bring you guys back some food."

Piotr closed the door after her, then returned to Anorra's bedside. His eyes lingered on her face as he thought about what a wonderful person she must be to inspire the kind of love her friends had for her. Piotr had been a little taken with her from the moment he first saw her beautiful silver skin, so like his and yet so different. He wasn't sure if she liked him, though. He had seen the way she acted with her friends, so much more cheerful and at ease than she was with him. But he had only known her a few days, so perhaps that was the problem. Or maybe it was his fault. Piotr had never been very eloquent around women, especially not when he was starting to develop feelings for them.

He remained like that for a fairly long time, just looking at her. Some of her silvery hair had fallen across her face, so he reached out to gently brush the strands aside. The tips of his fingers lingered on her scales for a moment as he marveled at how they felt beneath his skin. The feeling was a good one, and it was one he could see himself wanting quite often.

The touch must have woken her, though, as she began stirring. Piotr withdrew his hand and watched her blue eyes open, blink, and then finally focus on him. She smiled at him in that moment after she had left sleep but before she had entirely woken up, looking happy to see him. Piotr smiled back, gazing tenderly at her. Then the moment broke and she blinked again, looking at him in confusion.

"Are you all right?" Piotr asked.

"I feel fine. Good. Better." Anorra said, then frowned. "Uhh…why are you, um, in my room?"

Piotr's smile faded a bit. "How much of last night do you remember?"

Anorra considered that. "Umm….We met in the hall….And then a fuzzy blue guy, but he didn't have a tail…Did Kurt cut off his tail?"

Samantha had apparently walked in on the last part of that comment, since she was suddenly next to them asking, "What? Kurt cut off his tail?"

Piotr laughed softly. "No. That was Beast, Anorra, he is the resident scientist."

Samantha calmed down, then handed Piotr a paper plate covered with various breakfast items. "Told you I'd bring you some food."

"Thank you, Sam." Piotr said, accepting the plate.

Samantha nodded and turned to Anorra. "How are you feeling, sweetie? I can't believe you didn't tell us you were so hurt that you needed medical attention."

"I didn't think I did." Anorra replied. "I thought I wasn't hurt that bad." The smell of Piotr's food was making her a bit hungry, so she asked hopefully, "Did you bring me anything?"

"Cassandra's got yours." Samantha said. "She, Zephyr, and Rachel should be up here in a minute. I think Bobby and Rogue are coming, too. Maybe Warren, he was eating with us. Oh, and Gambit. He invaded our table. I think Rogue might chase him away, now."

"What, is there just going to be a party in my room now?" Anorra muttered.

"Cass and I told them about you and everyone was worried." Samantha told her. "Well, except maybe Warren and Gambit. 'Cause they don't know you and everything."

"We have food!" Cassandra announced, kicking open the door.

Everyone Samantha had mentioned filed into the room, their expressions in varying stages of concern.

"And the best of company, petite." Gambit said, giving her a grin.

"You better not be talking about yourself, swamp rat." Rogue told him.

"How're you doing, Anorra?' Zephyr asked.

"If anyone else asks me that, I'm going to hit them." Anorra said, mostly joking. "I'm fine."

"Thanks to Piotr. You're supposed to be the smart one, you know. Sam and Rachel are the ones who are stubborn idiots." Cassandra said.

"Hey!" Rachel protested. "I'm not an idiot."

The chatter continued for awhile until Anorra rolled her eyes.

"If you all are going to invade my room, you could at least give me some of the food you claim to have." She commented, sitting up.

Apparently she had forgotten that she wasn't wearing anything. Or just didn't realize it, since she didn't really seem to remember much of last night. Whatever the case, as soon as her covers fell off, her bare chest was revealed to the room. There was a long silence, then all of the men blushed and looked away.

Except for Gambit, who looked ready to say something until Samantha informed him, "No, Gambit. You being undressed would not make anything better."

Gambit grinned. "How you know what Gambit was going to say, petite?"

"Zephyr told us what happened." Cassandra said, handing Anorra a shirt that she had fished out of the silver woman's closet.

Anorra put it on, blushing darkly and still not saying anything.

"Okay, boys, all better." Cassandra said. "You can turn around now."

Rogue grinned. "You know, before y'all came here things weren't nearly this exciting."

"Gambit make everything better, chere." Gambit agreed.

Rogue glared at him. "Not you."

Bobby eyed Gambit for a moment, but then turned to Rachel. "She's right. I've run into you three times in the middle of the night. Which is, like, three times more than I've run into people before."

"Wait, you guys ran into each other last night?" Samantha demanded. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Rachel blushed. "Because I knew you guys wouldn't shut up."

"Blarg!" Anorra finally shouted. "Get the fuck out of my room!" She paused, then looked at Piotr. "Except you. You can stay."

"Fine. We know when we're not loved." Cassandra said, mock-pouting.

"Sorry, Anorra." Zephyr said. "We'll leave you alone now. We just wanted to check on you."

They said their good-byes, although Warren's was faint and almost squeaky, then trickled out of the room, leaving Anorra and Piotr alone once more.

* * *

Rachel was actually sort of glad she had detention right now. It would prevent her friends from teasing her now that they had found out about the fact that she had run into Bobby again last night. It was getting a bit silly now. Rachel had even gone to take a shower at about ten pm, four or five hours before they usually ran into each other. Apparently he had gotten the same idea, though, because he had walked out of his room in a towel the same time as she had.

Well, hopefully, by the time her detention was finished, they would have forgotten about it. Somehow she doubted it, though. Her friends never seemed to forget embarrassing incidents. Unfortunately.

Rachel had gotten a sort of revenge, though, at least on Samantha. The two of them had met outside of Classroom A, then had been told what their detention assignments were. Samantha had a Danger Room session with Logan, but Rachel had just ended up having to help Gambit clean out his new office. When they had gotten there, Gambit took a look around, then just cleared out a few things before declaring it good enough. Now they were just lounging in his office, drinking sodas and chatting about nothing in particular.

"Easiest detention ever, non?" Gambit asked. "What you and Sam do to make the Professor angry with you?"

"I have no idea." Rachel said. "I'm not even sure how we got detention in the first place, since we're not students."

"You must have done something really bad, then. Shame you don't remember what it was, Gambit would've liked to know." He said, winking at her.

Rachel blushed. "Honestly, I haven't done anything. Not bad anyway, just some embarrassing stuff. It's probably Sam's fault. It usually is."

Gambit laughed. "Sam, she is a trouble maker?"

"Sometimes. She and Cassandra are the most hyper-active of the group. It's not really a good idea to leave them alone together." Rachel said, then grinned. "Sometimes I'm just as bad, though."

Gambit grinned. "You let Gambit join in your fun, non? He can show you a thing or two."

"Don't tell Sam or Cass that." Rachel said. "They'll take it completely the wrong way."

"What makes you think Gambit didn't mean it that way?" He teased.

Rachel laughed. "Yeah, you guys will get along great. I think Cassandra likes you, too. And Zephyr, although that's probably only because of your little shower scene."

"The highlight of Gambit's day." He commented. "And it's the truth. The women, they cannot resist Gambit."

"Rogue seems to be doing a pretty good job." She said.

Gambit sighed. "Ah, yes. The only woman Gambit wants and she is not for him to take."

"I know what you mean." Rachel agreed without realizing what she was saying.

He raised an eyebrow. "There is a woman you want that you cannot have?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No. Bobby, actually. And I don't know why I just said that."

"Ahh." Gambit nodded. "Because you and Gambit are alike. You like the man who is dating the woman that Gambit wants."

"I guess you could say that." Rachel said. "It's not really anything, though. I've only known him for a few days, so…."

Gambit shook his head. "That does not matter, petite. Sometimes, you just know."

* * *

"I don't have to fight you, Logan, do I?" Samantha asked.

"Why, kid, you scared?" Logan returned.

Samantha grinned. "No, but Cassandra might kill me if I hurt you. She likes you, apparently." She tilted her head at him. "I can sort of see why. Not in that way, though. She's welcome to that."

Logan didn't know what to do with the information that Cassandra liked him. It was sort of like finding out that Rogue had a crush on him. Except….Well, not quite as surprising, for some reason. And not as unthinkable. "You talk just as much as she does."

"I know." Samantha said. "Sorry. Tell me to shut up and I will."

"Really?" Logan asked.

"Yup." She said. "But then I tend to make with the touchy-feely."

Logan stared at her, then shook his head. He didn't want to know. "No, kid, we're not fighting. We're going to be on the same team."

"Awesome." She said. "You want me human or should I shift?"

"Whatever you're more comfortable with." Logan finished setting the Danger Room to the session they were going to do, then gestured for her to follow him into the room.

She did so, remaining human for the time being. The program started up and a forest appeared before them. It was night time and a few owls were hooting.

Samantha frowned. "I can't feel the owls."

"They're not really here, you know." Wolverine said.

"Not fair." Samantha grumbled. "Half of my power is gone."

Wolverine shushed her as they walked through the forest. Before long, they were ambushed by a large group of soldiers. Logan let out a growl and lunged at them, and Samantha did the same. There was a brief but furious battle, then all of the soldiers lay unconscious of the ground. Samantha was breathing heavily, but relatively unscratched. Wolverine hadn't even worked up a sweat.

"You did good, kid. But head's up. We're not done yet." He said.

They went through the forest for nearly an hour, fighting off anyone who attacked them. About half-way through, Samantha had changed into a large black lion and began being able to take out almost as many men as Wolverine. Not quite, though. Finally, they reached the end of the forest and the simulation ended.

"All done, Samantha." Wolverine said, then frowned. "Do you have a codename yet?"

Samantha shook her head. _No. I haven't thought of one. I'm not changing back yet, because I trashed my outfit. _

"You can't change with clothes?" Wolverine asked.

_Nope. Only if they're skintight. _She replied.

"Guess we better get you a uniform, then, kid. I'll talk to Chuck tonight." He said.

_Does this mean I'm an X-man?_ Samantha asked, her mental voice excited.

"No, you're a kid, who just happens to dress up and play super-hero with the other kids. And some adults." He said.

_I'll take that as a yes. You're not as bad as you act, you know. _She said.

Wolverine narrowed his eyes. "I'm not?"

If he didn't know any better, he'd say her lion form was grinning. _Nope. You're secretly a softie. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Except Cassandra. But she already knows. _

Wolverine shook his head. He knew staying here was a bad idea. He didn't need a bunch of kids attaching themselves to him. And he definitely didn't need to get attached to anyone else. That never ended well. Jean had died, and he had almost gotten Rogue killed numerous times. And yet here he was. Starting to get his emotions involved.

_Okay, well, I'm kinda dead. And I'm going to be even more dead after I change back. So I'm going to go upstairs and relax before my riding class. _Samantha told him, stretching and heading towards the exit. _Thanks for the lesson.

* * *

_

Zephyr knocked on Anorra's door to see if she wanted to come down to dinner. Cassandra, Rachel, Bobby, Rogue, and Gambit had already headed downstairs to grab a table, and Samantha was apparently still tired from her Danger Room session with Logan and her riding class, as she had decided to sleep through dinner. Probably so she could be awake enough to enjoy her German lesson with Kurt later in the evening.

The door opened, then, and Piotr stuck his head out.

"Have you been in here all day?" Zephyr asked.

Piotr blushed slightly. "Yes. We have been talking. Anorra was not feeling up to getting out of bed, so I remained with her."

Zephyr smiled. "That's really sweet of you, Piotr. You're a good friend."

He blushed even more. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She said. "Are you guys coming down to dinner?"

Piotr shook his head. "Anorra is resting now. She is still a little tired from the medication Beast gave her."

"Okay. Tell her I said hi when she wakes up." Zephyr requested.

"I will." Piotr said. "See you later."

"Bye Pete." She said, waving as he shut the door. She then headed down the hall, looking forward to telling her friends that Piotr had stayed in Anorra's room all day.

"Zephyr?" Warren asked, catching up with her in the hall. "Hey."

"Hey, Warren!" She greeted cheerfully, pleased to see him. "You're sitting with us for dinner again, right?"

"Yeah." He replied. "I wouldn't be as entertained anywhere else."

Zephyr grinned. "See, I told you that you'd like it here."

Warren nodded, then hesitated.

"What is it?" Zephyr asked. "You can tell me."

"Well, I know we haven't known each other that long, but did you maybe want to go see a movie with me sometime?" Warren asked in one big breath.

Zephyr took a moment to figure out what he had said, then a slow smile spread over her face. She was so glad she had come here. If she hadn't, then she wouldn't have an incredibly sweet, incredibly gorgeous young man who she would love to know better asking her on a date. "I'd love that." She replied, smiling shyly at him.

His face lit up. "Really? Good. Um, great. Friday? Is that okay?"

"Sure." She agreed. "Friday sounds good. Evening?"

Warren nodded as the two of them entered the dining hall. The subject was dropped, then, as they sat down with their friends, but both of them retained a cheerful air that didn't go unnoticed.

* * *

After Samantha had woken up from her nap, she was still a bit tired, so she took a shower to try and wake herself up. Really. That was the only reason why she was showering. It had nothing to do with wanting to look nice for her German lesson. Because it was just a lesson, after all, not a date or anything. Still, though, Samantha arrived at Kurt's office a few minutes early and was feeling a bit excited.

"Guten Tag." Kurt greeted. "You are early."

"Is that okay?" Samantha asked.

Kurt nodded. "It is no problem. I have been ready for awhile. What would you like to learn tonight?"

For once, Samantha's mind was out of the gutter, since she didn't take his statement in any other way than the way it was meant. It was probably because none of her friends were with her. "I don't know. Maybe we could start with just some phrases?"

"Sounds good." Kurt agreed. "Have a seat."

Samantha sat down in a chair in front of his desk and he crouched on top of it, making her smile.

"That's so cool, how you can do that." Samantha commented. "You used to be an acrobat, right? Rogue mentioned it."

Kurt looked pleased at her compliment, then nodded. "Yes, in the circus. My mutation helps with it."

"Mine, too." She said. "I do some gymnastics. It's always been easier for me, since I have an animal mutation."

"Yes, the shapeshifting." Kurt said. "I must admit I was surprised to see a donkey in the middle of the dining hall."

She blushed slightly. "I can be random sometimes. It's how I ended up with a tattoo."

"Random is not necessarily bad." He said. "And you have a tattoo?"

"Yeah." Samantha said, pulling down her left sock to show the small tattoo of a crescent moon inside a sun on her left ankle. "Rachel and I found a tattoo parlor one day and just got them."

Kurt smiled at her. "It is lovely."

"So are yours." Samantha told him. "Angelic symbols, right? My mom has some painted in her room at home."

"She is the Catholic one, yes?" Kurt asked.

Samantha nodded. "She's Irish, so it's pretty much a given that she's Catholic." She joked.

Kurt laughed. "True. Should we move on to the German now?"

"Good idea." Samantha agreed.

They moved on to the German, then, but they didn't stay there very long before they began talking about other things again. The conversation moved back and forth from an actual German lesson to just random things they wanted to talk about, until Samantha realized it was past midnight and it was probably time to head to sleep. Especially since Kurt was teaching a class early the next morning.

"Thanks for the lesson, Kurt, I appreciate it." Samantha told him.

"I enjoyed it as well." He said. "Perhaps we can do it again sometime?"

"I'd love that. Maybe this can be a regular Monday night thing?" She asked.

Kurt smiled. "Wunderbar. I will look forward to Mondays, then."

"Me, too. Night, Kurt." Samantha said as she stood up and headed out of the door.

"Schlafen siegut." Kurt replied, then clarified, "Sleep well."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Abby frightened me by yelling at me in German, so in this chapter Anorra falls down and hits her head on a table, then has to walk around with a big bump for the rest of the week. Yes. That is what happens. Really. And it sounded funnier when Paesha suggested it, so I probably didn't word it right. But, oh, well. Usual disclaimer and stuff about flames. And that's all. Yup.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Most of the week passed relatively quickly, and before they knew it Friday morning had arrived. Bobby and Rachel had somehow managed to run into each other in varying stages of undress every night that week, despite changing their hours about erratically, and Gambit had succeeded in irritating Rogue as much as possible. Logan had given Cassandra fighting lessons every night, and the lessons had grown progressively longer with each day. Kurt had upped their German lessons to two nights a week, Monday and Wednesday, but other than that, Samantha hadn't seen much of him. Anorra was still incredibly shy around Piotr, but the day they had spent together seemed to make her relax somewhat, as she was now capable of holding a conversation with him. Zephyr and Warren had been slightly shy around each other as well, although they had been making it a point to hang out as much as possible.

Which was quite a bit, since a group was slowly forming between the five new women, the two new men, and the three more or less veterans. They were all about the same age, although Cassandra, Gambit, and Samantha were a bit older than the others, and they seemed to get along fairly well. By now, all of them were pretty much settled in.

And so the women decided it was time for a prank. Which was the reason that Cassandra, Samantha, Rachel, Rogue, Zephyr, and Anorra were currently in Gambit's room, sneaking quietly over to his bed, where he lay sleeping.

"Where'd we get the handcuffs again?" Rogue asked softly.

"They're mine." Samantha whispered back, holding them up.

"I don't think we want to know why Sam has handcuffs." Cassandra said.

"I second that." Anorra agreed.

"Ha ha." Samantha muttered. "They're from…"

"Shh!" Rachel hissed.

Gambit stirred briefly, but then settled back down into sleep. The women looked relieved, then snuck the rest of the way over to his bed.

Samantha snapped one end of the handcuff around Gambit's wrist before giving a wicked grin. "Come here, Rogue, you can do the other one."

"With pleasure." Rogue said, moving over to her. "Where are we…"

She trailed off as Samantha darted out a hand and closed the other end of the handcuff around Rogue's out-stretched wrist.

"We told you we were going to handcuff him to something really awkward." Cassandra said with a satisfied grin.

"Welcome to the group!" Zephyr told her, rather loudly.

"I'm gonna kill you guys!" Rogue shouted, her Southern accent thickening.

The five women backed away so Rogue couldn't reach them without dragging Gambit out of bed. She tried, though, tugging on Gambit enough so that he finally woke up.

He blinked at them, then gave a slow smile. "Told you, petite, the women cannot resist Gambit."

"Get out of bed, swamp rat, I have some people to kill." Rogue told him.

"Okay, chere, but Gambit thinks you may not like the outcome." He said, throwing off the covers and sliding out of bed. Apparently totally unembarrassed about being completely naked, Gambit stood next to Rogue, peering down at their handcuffs. "If this is your idea of a practical joke, Gambit likes the way you think."

"We should have figured he'd sleep naked." Anorra muttered.

Cassandra grinned. "I did figure it. Why do you think I was so cheerful about this plan?"

"We're not letting you go until you two can get along." Samantha informed them. "So place nice, kiddies." With that, the non-handcuffed people dashed out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Rogue glared at Gambit. "Put your damn pants on."

"Fine, chere, but Gambit can think of many things to do without them." He said. "The others did say to play nice, non?"

"My idea of playing nice doesn't involve you being naked." She replied.

"Give Gambit a little while, ha can convince you otherwise." He told her with a wink, but he obediently went over to the dresser. They spent a few moments trying to figure out how he could put on his pants without her touching anything, but eventually the jeans were on.

"Better." Rogue said.

"Gambit thinks things would be better if you had no shirt, either." He said.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "You ain't charming, Gambit, you're just irritating."

Gambit placed his free hand over his heart. "You wound Gambit, chere. What he ever done to hurt you?"

"I have a boyfriend, swamp rat. So stop with the flirting." Rogue said.

"Gambit, he only kids." He said. "He doesn't mean to get you so riled up. Maybe you like it, non?"

Rogue glared at him. "See, it's stuff like that. Knock it off."

He smiled back at her. "Okay, chere, for you, Gambit will be a good boy."

And he actually was. They managed to hold a decent conversation for a while. But just when Rogue was actually starting to enjoy herself, Gambit ruined it by commented, "You sure you are not too hot, chere? Maybe you would feel better with less clothes on."

"No, I would feel better if I wasn't handcuffed to a chauvinistic asshole." Rogue replied, glaring daggers at him.

Gambit looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, Rogue." He reached a hand over and placed it on the chain running between their handcuffs. The chain links glowed with red sparkles, then blew apart, freeing them.

Rogue pulled her hand away angrily. "You could have done that the whole time? Why didn't you?"

"Maybe Gambit want to be close to you, chere, and this is the only way he could." He told her softly.

"You don't want to be close to me." Rogue said, a bit unsettled by the sincere and slightly hurt look in his eyes. "You'd die."

"Gambit could find a way." He said.

Rogue shook her head. "You can't. Bobby's already tried."

"Then maybe he hasn't tried hard enough, non?" Gambit said, then opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a red silk scarf. He spread it out and held it up to his lips before leaning over and kissing her. The thin sheet of silk protected him from his powers, but allowed them to feel just about everything. Startled, Rogue froze, but soon found herself leaning into the kiss. For a long, slow moment, everything seemed perfect.

Then Gambit pulled away, dropping the scarf around her shoulders. "For you, chere, a man ought to do anything."

He got up and walked out, then, leaving a very confused and unsettled Rogue to stare after him.

* * *

"You aren't mad at us, are you, Bobby?" Zephyr asked as she walked with him down the hall. They were both TA's form Storm's beginning piloting class, which had just let out.

Bobby glanced at her. "Shouldn't you be asking Rogue that?"

"Oh, I will." She said. "But it was your girlfriend that we handcuffed to another guy."

Bobby winced a bit. "Yeah, I do wish you had picked someone who wasn't constantly trying to get with Rogue."

"Nothing will happen." Zephyr assured. "You and Rogue are really cute together."

He blushed slightly. "Thanks. But I'm starting to wonder if maybe we both would be better off somewhere else."

Zephyr frowned. "What do you mean?"

Bobby shrugged. "I don't know. It's just, this Gambit guy hasn't even been here a week and she's already spending more time with him than with me. And before that it was Logan…." He shook his head. "It's nothing. Never mind. I'll catch you later, okay?"

Without waiting for her to answer, Bobby speed up, ducking around the corner and disappearing.

* * *

"I'm bored, Pyro." Charm commented from where she was lounging on his bed, watching TV. "There's got so be something amusing we can do while we wait."

Pyro rolled his eyes. He didn't bother to remind her that she had a TV in her own room which was perfectly functional. It wouldn't do any good. She would probably just smirk at him and make some comment about the view being better in here. Charm didn't even bother knocking before entering his room anymore, she just tossed open the door and sauntered in, demanding attention without saying a word. It was a good thing Pyro took care of any actual business in his office, not in here. He didn't exactly mind, as she was definitely better company than anyone else currently here. Even if she did constantly try to get into his pants. Pyro wondered what would happen if he just agreed one time. He had a feeling Charm was all talk.

Still, though, she was no worse than Toad. Well, maybe she was, a little. But the amphibious mutant had attached himself to Backlash, much to her distaste. He flirted with her constantly, despite her negative responses. The halls were often filled with the sound of them arguing. Pyro was of the opinion that the two of them should just shut up, have sex, and then move on. Before they endangered Magneto's mission. When Backlash was alone, though, she was an asset. She was intelligent, calm, and cool-headed. She had actually helped with the little excursion they had planned for that night.

Aphedria, though, was still a mystery to him. She stayed in her room most of the time, when she wasn't killing things in the training room. When they passed each other in the halls, she either completely ignored him or made some snide comment that was meant to hurt him. Occasionally she, Backlash, and Charm disappeared for hours, then returned with a smug smile or satisfied airs about them. Magneto didn't seem to care what they were doing, so Pyro didn't worry about it, either. Besides, he now had a small pile of cash stowed away in his room from the times Charm had come back from one of her trips only to dump money on his bed and inform him that she didn't need it.

Charm had started talking again, although not to him. She was speaking in her other language, the one that allowed her to talk to objects. Apparently when he had ignored her earlier comment, she had turned her attention to one of the things in his room.

"What are you doing now?" Pyro asked, not bothering to keep the annoyance from his voice.

Charm glanced over at him and smiled. He often ignored her like that, disappearing into his own little world. If she cared about him, she might have been irritated that he was shutting her out, but as it was, she found it more or less amusing. He was probably thinking about fire. She saw him in the training room, once, and his control over the flames had been utterly perfect. And he had been grinning the whole time, obviously enjoying it. Which was why it surprised her that they had yet to do anything beyond that one kiss, despite all of her suggestions. For someone so dangerous, he was certainly being cautious now. Huh. Maybe he was gay. That would suck. Unless she could talk him into a threesome.

In any case, the fact that they hadn't done anything was probably why Charm wasn't bored of him yet. It didn't occur to her that having sex with someone on their team and then ditching him wasn't the best of ideas. And it probably wouldn't, unless someone pointed it out to her. Even then, she most likely wouldn't care.

"Having a conversation with something that listens to me." Charm said finally. Well, actually, she was trying to. But since she wasn't touching his flame throwing contraption, she was having difficulties talking with it. She generally had to be touching objects to speak with them, unless they knew her well enough to recognize the sound of her voice.

"If you're looking for someone to listen to you, then you shouldn't be in here." Pyro said.

Charm smirked at him. "Like we ever really talk, hon. I can think of much more fun things to do with you."

Pyro shook his head. "Shut up and change the channel. This show sucks."

"You're closer," She replied, and unfortunately, she was right.

Damn. It was going to be a long wait. Then a slow smile crossed Pyro's lips as he thought of the look on the Icebox's face when he saw him again. It would be worth it.

* * *

"Don't be too mad at us, Rogue, okay?" Samantha asked. "We were just teasing."

The six women were gathered in Samantha's room. After Rogue had come to find them with only half of a handcuff, Samantha had unlocked it, grumbling about being owed a new pair. Which everyone ignored, since they didn't want to know why Samantha needed handcuffs. Rogue had been visibly upset, though, so they were trying to make things better.

"We've all done it to each other. As sort of a welcome to the group." Cassandra said. "When we first became friends with Rachel, we hollowed out tennis balls and filled them with pudding, then put them in one of those automatic tennis ball shooting things. By the end, she was completely covered."

"And when Zephyr joined, we put her in one of the art classrooms in just a bathrobe while she was sleeping. We told the nude model she didn't need to come, so when the students came in the next morning they all drew Zephyr instead." Rachel told her.

Zephyr blushed. "It was the most embarrassing thing ever. But not as fun as when we put dye in Anorra's shower. She was hot pink for a week. And there was a hot pink dragon chasing us around for awhile."

"And then we realized Cass and Sam had started the whole pranking thing, so we put a bunch espresso in her food and locked her outside. She ran around like and idiot and colored all over one of the dorm walls." Anorra said.

"And they put all of my furniture on the roof. It took me forever to get it all down." Samantha finished. "So see? It just means we love you."

Rogue shook her head. "Y'all couldn't have picked a prank that would be less confusing for me?"

Cassandra blinked. "Huh?"

"Never mind." Rogue said, then grinned. "Of course, y'all do know that this means I have to get you back."

Samantha hugged her. "Yay! You've officially become one of us."

"Be afraid." Anorra said. "Be very afraid."

* * *

Cassandra fidgeted nervously as she sat in a chair in front of Xavier's desk, waiting for him to come in. She had seen something, something horrible. Something she absolutely did not want to come true. She just hoped that Xavier would believe her when she told him. Or tried to tell him, anyway.

When the Professor finally came in, he was accompanied by Logan and Cassandra's nerves took a jump upwards. Great, now she was going to make herself sound like an idiot in front of Logan.

"Thank you for seeing me, Professor." Cassandra said.

Xavier smiled. "Of course, Cassandra. What is it you needed?"

She took a deep breath. "I think you should increase the security tonight. I can't tell you why, it's just really important. Please."

Xavier looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "I can do that, if it will make you feel more at ease."

"Not just security systems." Cassandra insisted. "Someone. A guard, or maybe more than one."

"I'll do it, Chuck." Logan said. "I don't sleep much, anyway."

Cassandra shot him a grateful look. "I can stay up, too. Please?"

Xavier paused. He could read the fear coming off of Cassandra and sense that she was telling the truth, but there was something in her mind blocking him from knowing anything else. It was entirely possible that she was psychic, and didn't even realize it. Or that he just couldn't see it. It may be the same force that seemed to make her unable to speak of her second power. Finally, he nodded. "Very well. I will also send out a message to let anyone staying up late know that they should be on their guard."

Cassandra sagged with relief. "Thank you. I wish I could tell you, but…"

Xavier shook his head. "It's not important, Cassandra. We trust you."

* * *

Zephyr let out a slow breath to try and calm herself as she took one last look in the mirror. She was wearing a feathery shirt in varying shades of purple, lined with beaded designs in light blue. It was sleeveless and clung to her upper body like a second skin. Her skirt was the same color blue as the beads and came down to just below her knees. The style was loose and flowy, the kind that flared out with every spin. Blue and purple beaded slippers adorned her feet, completing the outfit. Most of her hair was left straight, but a few curled strands mixed in amongst the rest. There was light blue eye shadow on her lids and glittering lips gloss covered her lips.

She had tucked the lip gloss in her purse, since she and Warren had decided to eat dinner before the movie and she figured the gloss would be all gone by the end of their meal. They were going sooner than they had planned, since Cassandra had begged them to see an earlier show. She wouldn't say why, but Zephyr trusted the older woman, so Warren had called the theater and moved their tickets to the movie before their original one and their dinner reservations to an hour earlier.

He was late, though. By about five minutes. It wasn't much, but it was making Zephyr nervous. What if he had changed his mind? Maybe he didn't like her after all, or maybe he had only asked her out of gratitude because she showed him around and he was now regretting it. Before she could get too paranoid, though, a knock came on her door. She went to answer it and Warren was standing there, looking gorgeous in khaki pants, a pale blue dress shirt, and a long brown trenchcoat.

"Sorry I'm late." Warren told her.

"It's not his fault!" Samantha shouted from behind him. "We cornered him!"

"We had to make sure he was good enough for you." Cassandra agreed.

"And now we're leaving. Have fun!" Anorra said.

"Don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Rachel called.

"Don't tell her that. Now she'll do something bad." Rogue commented, her voice fading as they started leaving.

"Sorry about that." Zephyr said, blushing. "They're sort of over-protective."

"I noticed." Warren said with a grin. "Don't worry about it. You're lucky to have such good friends."

"They're your friends too, you know." She told him. "And where are your wings?"

"Under my coat." He answered. "I have a harness that keeps them flat against my back. And the professor gave me this image inducer so I don't look like a hunchback."

Zephyr frowned. "I miss them. But I guess it'd be easier to sit at dinner or in a movie theater without them."

He nodded. "It will be. You ready?"

"Yup." She said, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. "Let's go."

"You look really pretty, by the way." Warren told her as they walked down to the garage.

Zephyr blushed. "Thanks. You look good, too. Even without your wings."

They made small talk as they drove to the restaurant, then while they were waiting to be seated. After they had ordered their food, Warren asked, "So where are you from?"

"Juno, Alaska." She answered. "I came out here to go to college, but my dad and little brother are still back there."

"And they're okay with you being at Xavier's?" Warren asked.

"They don't know." Zephyr said quietly. "When I transferred to Xavier's, I told them I had gotten a scholarship to a private college. They were thrilled." She gave a slightly sad laugh and shook her head. "But it doesn't matter. My mom knew, anyways."

"Knew?" Warren repeated.

She nodded. "My mom died when I was twelve. She knew about my powers, though. She was the one that told me how wonderful they were. I always believed her when she said they were a blessing."

"That must have been nice." Warren said. "My mom died, too, when I was just a baby. It's always been just my dad. And whoever he could pay to take care of me."

"Your dad didn't spend much time with you?" She asked softly.

"No. He tried, but, well, he was just busy." He said.

"Then it was his loss." Zephyr told him firmly, reaching across the table to place her hand over his. "Anyone who wouldn't rather spend time with you than do anything else is a little crazy."

"He wanted to." Warren said. "But he had other things to do, to try and help me. To try and fix me."

Zephyr frowned in confusion. "Fix you?"

Warren shook his head, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

Zephyr didn't press him. Instead, she gave his hand a squeeze and told him, "Well, it doesn't matter. You're perfect, just the way you are."

Warren smiled shyly and squeezed her hand back. "So are you."

* * *

There were nearly a dozen mutants moving stealthily about the mansion grounds. Pyro, Toad, Backlash, Aphedria, and Charm were among them, accompanied by seven other mutants that had thrown their allegiance in with Magneto and the Brotherhood. One of them had the ability to shield their bodies from cameras and their minds from psychics, even one as powerful as Xavier. She could only shield eleven people, which is why only eleven were there. Shielding was her only power, though, so she would have to be protected during the battle. Now, though, they crept up to the back entrance of the school.

Charm moved over to the door and placed her hand on it, speaking to it quietly. A tense couple of minutes went by, then the door opened itself.

Two rooms away, Logan jerked up from his spot on the couch. Cassandra had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder, but his movement startled her awake.

"What is it?" She asked, but Logan shushed her.

"Chuck." He said quietly. "We got company."

_I haven't sensed anyone. _Xavier replied mentally.

"Trust me, Chucklehead, there are people in here." Logan said.

_All right, Logan. All X-men, please report to the back entrance downstairs. Immediately. _Xavier announced to the mansion. _Students,_ _please remain in your rooms and assume lockdown positions. _

"Looks like Zeph and Warren aren't going to get to finish their date." Cassandra said quietly as she followed Logan.

"Just remember your training, Cassandra." Logan muttered, then gave a slightly wicked grin when he came upon the mutants entering the mansion. "Lose your way, bub?"

"Shit." Pyro said. "Secondary mission, people, go."

Two of the mutants disappeared.

"Rush them." Pyro said. "Aphedria, Wolverine. Anyone else, the girl."

Toad grinned and hopped up in the air, landing right in front of Cassandra. Cassandra made a fake lunge for him, then turned and ran out the back entrance, hoping to draw him after her. Sure enough, Toad followed her outside.

"Cassandra!" Wolverine shouted, starting after her. Toad was an expert martial artist, there was no way Cassandra could take him.

Aphedria stood in front of him, reaching out her hand and speeding up his metabolism, wasting away his flesh as his body ate at it. His healing factor kicked in, though, replenishing it as fast as it was taken away. It kept him busy, though, enough so that a few more of the mutants pushed past him. Fortunately, they were met by the rest of the X-men, minus Zephyr and Warren. They were in varying stages of dress, but all looked ready for battle. The fight began, and with the X-men pushing the invading mutants back, it was soon moved out into the yard.

There were only nine of the invading mutants left. The psychic mutant was defenseless, and Charm had to maintain contact with her in order to extend her red energy shield, which moved their numbers down to seven. Wolverine had instructed Colossus to attack Aphedria, whose powers had no affect on him, since he didn't have a metabolism in his steel form. Backlash had called her black whip and charged it with crackling energy, but it was no use to her when her opponent kept using his powers to teleport back and forth. The other Brotherhood mutants were trying their hardest, but it was obvious they were losing.

Pyro switched on his flamethrowers to create a flame, then began shooting flames in all directions, forcing the X-men to retreat.

"Iceman!" Storm shouted. "We need to keep him from turning those on again!"

Iceman reached out and covered the burning areas in ice, putting out the flames. Telepsa, who was currently in her humanoid dragon form, wrapped the end of her tail around Pyro's wrists and held him as high as her six-foot-tail would allow, dangling him above the ground and keeping him from reaching his flamethrowers.

"Got him!" Telepsa growled, her voice slightly strangled due to the fact that her jaw had reshaped itself in order to be able to hold her fangs.

Wolverine had pinned Toad's arms behind him, but Backlash's whip cracked through the air and wrapped itself around Wolverine's neck, causing him to release Toad. Toad lunged to try and free Pyro, but Colossus stopped him before he could reach Telepsa. Cassandra snuck up behind Backlash and punched her in the face, giving Wolverine enough time to grab the whip and use it to flip Backlash over his head.

With Colossus distracted, Aphedria moved to attack Iceman but flaming tennis balls were thrown at her head from above and she was forced to dodge them. One of the other mutants had cornered Rogue until a barrage of exploding playing cards drove him away as Gambit came to her rescue. Someone had thrown some kind of knife that was able to move at an incredible speed, and it was heading right for Nightcrawler, who was engaged in battle with another mutant. Fortunately, Samantha as a lion leaped for it and batted it aside with a paw, knocking it off its course.

In the middle of all of this, Zephyr and Warren finally arrived. Warren was flying with Zephyr cradled in his arms, and as they touched down, they immediately joined the fight.

Charm, whose voice had been lost in the noise of the battle, began screaming what sounded like a song in a different language. For a long moment, the battle continued unchanged, and then Pyro's flamethrowers switched on, leaping into action. Startled, Telepsa dropped him in an effort to save her tail. Pyro let out a cackle and began flaming things again, and Iceman was forced to turn his attention back to the fire mutant. One of the mutants had taken the form of a stone giant, and had been battling with Colossus until the stone being got in a lucky shot and Colossus was knocked unconscious.

"Take him inside!" Storm yelled. "Telepsa, can your dragon form carry him?"

Telepsa immediately shifted to her dragon form and nudged Colossus onto her back. Then she was off, darting into the mansion as fast as she could go. Her coordination didn't seem to be very good, though, as the sound of her scurrying, then thudding into a wall, then scurrying again and repeating the process sounded from inside the mansion. Backlash finally succeeded in hitting Samantha with her whip, and the lash caused the shape shifting mutant to fall out of her lion form and back to human in mid leap. She would have fallen to the ground, but Nightcrawler caught her and teleported her to safety.

Storm's eyes grew white, then, as she began calling up a storm to end this.

"Pyro!" Charm yelled. "Do we hold?"

There was a moment of silence, then, "No! Fall back, we're done!"

The invading mutants fled as lightning chased them, and a pouring rain quenched the last of the fires that Iceman had been unable to put out.

_Do not chase them. _Xavier ordered. _The threat is gone, and we need to evaluate our situation. _

Wolverine growled and probably would have disobeyed, but Cassandra had gotten a long gash down one of her legs and was currently leaning against him for support. Samantha was unconscious in Nightcrawler's arms, and Rogue had one of Gambit's arms around her shoulders as she struggled to hold him up. The others had various scraps, bruises, and injured limbs, but nothing too bad. Unfortunately, a good part of the backyard was in ruins.

"Gambit thinks this will take forever to clean up, non?" He murmured as Rogue helped him back inside, following the others.

Warren and Zephyr lingered outside in front of the door for a moment after everyone else had gone in.

"Sorry our date got interrupted." Warren told her. "You think we could try again something?"

"I'd like that." Zephyr said. "But our date's not over yet."

"It's not?" He asked, looking confused.

"Nope. The date's not over until you've kissed me good night." She said, giving him a bit of a shy smile.

"Oh!" Warren blushed a bit, then leaned over to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

Zephyr returned it, slipping her arms around his neck and absently running her fingers through the feathers on his wings. Then, she pulled away and smiled. "Good night, Warren."

She turned and walked inside, leaving him to stare after her with an expression that was both thoughtful and pleased.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **No flames! Flamers will be drowned by the emo tears of doom. In this chapter, Zephyr falls down the stairs and dies, Cassandra is killed and everyone throws a party. The end.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Anorra skidded into the medical area, managing to stop herself before she smacked into some equipment. Fortunately, the facility was wide enough for her to have plenty of room to maneuver in. She carefully slid Piotr off of her back and on to one of the beds, then changed back into her human form. When he had been knocked unconscious, Piotr had lost his metal shield, and now he was human as well. Anorra wouldn't admit it, but she was scared. Any blow that would knock Piotr in his metal form unconscious would have killed him had he been human.

She didn't know what she would have done if he'd died. Damn it, she had only known him for a week, she wasn't supposed to be this attached to him. Then she told herself she was being silly. He could have died, she would have been worried about anyone in this situation. It wasn't just Piotr.

Still, though, she slid a shaking hand gently over his forehead, tangling his fingers in his hair. "Hold on, Piotr." She murmured. "Don't you leave us now." Anorra forced herself to say us, just in case he, or someone else, heard. "Professor! Piotr needs help, now!" She called, adding extra emphasis to her thoughts.

_I know, Anorra. Beast is coming, and everyone else as well. The battle is over. _Xavier told her.

Anorra breathed a sigh of relief, then stood there, waiting. It wasn't long before a crowd of people gathered in the room, flooding it with conversation and the sound of moving bodies.

Finally, Beast jumped up to hang from the ceiling. "If you're not injured, please leave the room, except for Ororo, Kurt, and Logan. I will let you all know when everyone is okay."

There was a rumble of protest, but finally everyone except for Cassandra, Samantha, Gambit, Rogue, Anorra, Beast, and the three Beast had mentioned remained in the room. Beast silently handed Anorra a bathrobe and she blushed bright red as she remembered she still didn't have a uniform, and so had been left naked after she shifted. Fortunately, everyone was too distracted to really notice or comment as Anorra slipped on the bathroom and tied it closed.

Logan helped Cassandra up onto one of the examination tables and she pulled up the leg of her jeans, wincing at the deep wound that was on her calf. "Ow. Pain. Pain." She commented, grabbing Logan's hand and lacing her fingers through his.

Surprisingly, he didn't comment. He even gave her a squeeze back as he told her, "Good job, Cass."

Gambit's eyes were unfocused and he could barely keep his balanced as Rogue helped him climb up onto another table. He attempted a cocky smirk, but it didn't work too well, and even once he was settled he didn't move his arm from Rogue's shoulders.

"Gambit got a stray rock to his head." Rogue told Ororo as the weather witch came over to examine him. "I wouldn't have thought anything could get through that thick head of his, but apparently something did. I should stay, he'll need someone to take him back to his bedroom."

Ororo looked ready to refuse, but her eyes softened as she took a look at Rogue's face. "Very well. You may remain, too, Anorra, if you wish." She performed a few brief tests on Gambit, then began bandaging his head. "You have a concussion." She informed him. "I'll give you some medication, but for the next twenty-four hours, you must have someone wake you up every four hours, or else you could wind up in a coma." Ororo turned to Rogue. "Can you do that, or would you like him to remain here?"

"I can do it." Rogue said. "Come on, Gambit, let's get you to your room."

"Gambit knew you would want back in his room, chere." He muttered to her as they started out.

Samantha was still unconscious, so Kurt placed her gently onto one of the beds. "She will be okay, yes?" He asked Beast quietly.

"She'll be fine, Kurt. I simply need to look her over." Beast replied. "And I will do so, after I examine Piotr."

Anorra hadn't really been listening to their conversation, both because she was focused on Piotr and because she was tired from the fight. When she heard Piotr's name, though, she looked up and finally noticed the other injured people in the room.

"Is everyone going to be okay?" Anorra asked, moving aside so that Beast could examine Piotr.

"I'm fine." Cassandra replied. "Just a deep, gushing wound that hurts like hell. And I think I saw some bone earlier, too. Gambit had a concussion, so Rogue took him upstairs to watch him. Sam and Pete are still out."

"They're fine, though, right? Just unconscious?" Anorra said.

"We need to wake Piotr up." Beast said. "I believe he may have a head injury as well, and the longer he sleeps the more likely it is that he will remain that way."

Immediately, there was a flurry of action as the four senior members of the X-men began taking the necessary medical action to try and revive someone. Anorra leaned over Piotr, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, wake up." She told him, shaking him lightly. "You need to open your eyes now, okay?" When that didn't work, Anorra grew desperate. She bent down and pressed her lips against his, kissing him passionately. To her surprise, she felt him begin to respond, and when she pulled away, he was looking at her.

"You scared me." She told him quietly. "We thought you weren't going to wake up. I…"

Piotr nodded. "I understand."

Beast smiled, looking a bit amused. "Perhaps there is some truth to the story of Sleeping Beauty after all. Except in this case, the roles were reversed."

Ororo came over to tend to Piotr while Beast moved to examine Samantha.

"She is fine?" Kurt asked nervously. "There is no danger of head injury? She did not hit the ground."

"No head injury." Beast told him. "She's just burned out from that mutant's whip. And she has a few injuries that need to be taken care of." There was a glaring red line across Samantha's lower back and part of her stomach and the beginnings of some bruising from Backlash's whip. Her left palm was cut open, and the ends of the cut were an unhealthy black-ish color. "I believe she may have been cut with a blade that was not made from metal, but some organic material."

"Ewwww." Cassandra commented. "Gross. One of the knives that Sam blocked was the same thing that cut me."

Logan had come back over to her after the scare with Piotr and she was clutching his hand again. "Is it poison?" He asked, gripping her hand a bit tighter.

"It cannot be poisoned." Kurt said. "That knife was meant for me. It is my fault."

"It's not poison." Beast replied. "Or at least not one that I know of. In any case, it has not spread to the bloodstream. I will examine the chemical make-up of it, but I do not believe it should have too much of an effect, aside from slowing the healing process down and perhaps making it more painful."

"Yay. Slow, painful healing. That'll be fun." Cassandra muttered.

Ororo finished with Piotr and moved over to Cassandra, cleaning and bandaging her leg. Beast finished Samantha's bandages as well, then came over to look at Cassandra.

"You can go up to your room, if you want." He said. "You don't have to remain here. You should have someone with you, though, just in case the wound has a more negative reaction than I thought."

"Logan?" Cassandra asked quietly. "Come with me? I don't want to stay down here. I want to be in my bed."

"I'll watch her for you, doc." Logan told Beast, then gathered Cassandra up in his arms. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"I will stay here with Samantha." Kurt said. "I can watch her if you wish to get some sleep."

"Thank you, Kurt." Ororo said. "I believe I will take you up on that offer. Call me if you need me."

She left as well, and Beast looked over at Anorra and Piotr.

"You want me to stay here?" Anorra asked Piotr. "I don't mind. Since you stayed up with me before."

"I would like that. As long as you do not mind." Piotr said.

"All right." Beast said. "Make sure Piotr doesn't sleep for at least another two hours. And then wake him up every two after that, just in case. I will be in my office if anything happens."

* * *

Aphedria was pissed off. They didn't get to kill anyone. Sure, their mission was technically a success, but she didn't care about that. She just wanted to kill things. So when she stepped out of her room and saw Charm disappearing around the corner, probably on her way to Pyro's room, it pissed her off. And then she stormed out of the building, planning on killing the first humans that crossed her path.

Charm had indeed been heading to Pyro's room. She flung open the door, still feeling a bit jazzed from the adrenaline she had been on during the fight. Unfortunately, Pyro wasn't there. He must have been off in his office, talking to Magneto. She didn't have to wait long, though, before Pyro came back in, his manner cocky and a slightly maniacal gleam in his eyes.

"I take it the meeting with Magneto went well, hon?" Charm asked.

"Perfectly." Pyro replied, pacing his room. He, too, had pent up energy. The fight hadn't gone nearly as well as they planned. "We got what he wanted."

"What about you, hon, you get what you want?" She said.

Pyro stopped pacing. "I will now."

Charm tilted her head at him. He was usually more or less calm, although he always had a slightly cocky air about him. Now his eyes burned, and he had that dangerous look she had seen him wearing while he fought. It must be left over from the battle. She couldn't say she was opposed to it.

She opened her mouth to reply, but he didn't even let her start before her lips were pinned under his and they fell back on the bed.

Backlash's room was only a few doors away, and so she could hear them. She was used to it, though. They all had their own little methods of burning off extra energy. Aphedria killed things, Charm had sex with her current boytoy, and Backlash, well, Backlash usually didn't let herself indulge in extra energy. All that she had was carefully allotted for something. Now, though, she found herself with some. And so, with a sigh, she slipped a bookmark into her book and went to go see Toad. Maybe she could finally break him this time.

* * *

Saturday morning came and went, and sometime later in the afternoon, Rachel was sitting outside of one of the first level windows. Inside, some of the students had banded together and were working on repairs to the halls that had been damaged by Anorra's frantic run through the mansion. The students who had witnessed that incident were still talking about it. None of them were likely to forget the sight of an eight-foot-tall dragon skidding across the hardwood floor and slamming into the walls at every turn like an over-grown puppy.

She was supposed to be in there with them, helping clean, but she was taking a break. So she had floated outside of the window and come to a stop right next to it, sitting cross-legged in mid air. A couple of the students inside had paused briefly to look over at her, but random usage of power wasn't uncommon around here, so their gazes didn't linger too long.

"Hey Rach." Bobby said, leaning out of the window. "How're the repairs going?"

"Fine." Rachel replied. "How's the backyard?"

Bobby grimaced. "Ugh. Most of the lawn is dead. It'll probably take awhile to grow it back."

She gave a bit of a grin. "Burninating does that."

Bobby laughed. "Strong bad?"

"Sam and Cass showed it to me." Rachel said.

"Have you been to see them?" Bobby asked.

"I just talked to Cass. She's in her room with Logan. Sam's still out. At least last I checked, but that was about an hour ago." She told him.

He nodded. "She's still out, I was just down there. Kurt's with her. Anorra's down there, too, with Piotr."

Rachel sighed. "Does this happen a lot, here? People attacking?"

Bobby shook his head. "No. It happened once before, a little less than a year ago. It was just us and Logan, and some rebel government faction tried to invade us. Logan got pissed." He said with a grin. "And the rest of us weren't too happy, either. They managed to kidnap six students."

"What happened?" She asked.

"We got them back." Bobby said simply. He paused, then, taking a closer look at her face. "What's wrong?"

Rachel shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. It's just, I wasn't really in the fight, was I? Everyone else was on the ground, getting hurt, and I was safe hovering above it all, throwing tennis balls."

"Hey, don't knock the tennis balls." He said. "Some of those saved my life, remember?"

Rachel smiled slightly. "Okay, so maybe I was slightly useful."

"You were more than slightly useful." Bobby told her. "You were great, Rach. You shouldn't feel bad about using your powers to their full extent."

"I don't. Not really." She said. "I just feel bad that everyone's injured."

"Me, too." He agreed. "It's an awkward position to be in. You can't feel too bad for yourself because everyone else is hurt, but you sort of wish it was you. Survivor's guilt."

"Yeah." Rachel said, falling silent.

They remained quiet for a moment, staring out at the front yard. Then, Bobby shook his head.

"I should have known Johnny would cause so much damage." He said. "He liked to burn things even when he was a student here."

"Johnny? The fire guy?" Rachel blinked. "He went here?"

Bobby nodded. "He used to be one of my best friends. He, Rogue, and I hung out all the time. But he left. He joined Magneto, after the invasion I was telling you about."

"Oh." She said. "I'm sorry."

"Me, too." He said. "It was partially my fault. I was so distracted, when Rogue and I started dating…Maybe if I paid more attention to him, I would have noticed something was different."

"You're not responsible for his decisions, you know." Rachel said. "And if I'm not allowed to play the guilt game, then neither are you."

He smiled. "Okay, you win."

"I like it when I win." Rachel commented cheerfully. There was silence again for awhile, then she asked, "How long have you and Rogue been together?"

"About two years." He said. "It's a long time, when you think about it. But it hasn't been the same lately."

"It hasn't?" She repeated.

He shook his head. "No. We've both been pulling away a little. For awhile, we were best friends. And we still are, there's just….I dunno, maybe nothing else."

"Is that because of Gambit?" She asked.

"No. Well, maybe, a little. But it happened before Gambit. Before you." Bobby said.

Rachel blinked at him. "Before me?"

"Yeah. You're confusing, you know that? I mean, I really like Rogue. And we get along great. But so do we. And…" Bobby shook his head. "Sorry. You don't need that right now."

"You're confusing, too." Rachel said. "We're quite a pair, aren't we?"

"Yeah. Anyway, it's just about dinner time. We should head inside." Bobby told her.

She floated back into the window, and the two headed for the dining hall, both of them purposely avoiding the last part of their conversation. There was a small staircase in their path, and in an attempt to lighten the mood, Bobby hopped on top of the railing and slid down it. Rachel had already descended the stairs, though, and so when he slid off the railing he came within a few inches of smacking into her.

"Geez, Bobby, kill me why don't you." Rachel commented jokingly.

"I try." Bobby teased back. "If it was iced up, my aim would have been more accurate."

Rachel laughed. "I'm just not going to comment on that. Really, really not going to comment."

* * *

"Cassandra. What are you doing?" Logan asked.

He had gone to go grab dinner for the injured woman, and apparently while he was getting it she had gotten a toothbrush somewhere. Cassandra was twisted around in her bed and currently scrubbing at her headboard.

"Nothing." She said. "Absolutely nothing."

Logan stared at her. "Cass. You're doing something."

"I'm cleaning." She replied. "Everyone else is out there cleaning, and I feel bad that I'm not helping. Plus, um, I have a little bit of OCD."

Logan stared at her, then set down the dinner he had gotten and walked over to her, taking the toothbrush from her hand. "Sit back down. You're going to hurt yourself even more."

"Am not." Cassandra muttered as she settled herself back down. "Oh. Ow. Never mind, I lied. Hey, is it time for more pills?"

"That's why I brought you dinner." He said, picking up the tray and bringing it over to her bed. "You have to eat with them."

"Not complaining here." She told him, digging into her food.

He sat down in the chair he had taken over for last night and most of the day. Logan was still a little worried about her, although he would never admit it. Beast had been working on analyzing the stuff that the knives had been made of, but he still hadn't quite figured it out yet. Until he did, there was a chance that it was dangerous. Which was why he was still in the room with her. Even if there was a part of him that really wanted to stay with her, he never would have allowed himself to do it if he didn't have a damn good reason.

Logan handed her the medication Beast had given her after she had finished eating, and she swallowed it. There was silence for a few minutes while the medication took effect, then Cassandra glanced over him.

"Logan? I have a really strange question. And I blame medication." She said.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Can you come hold me? Please? My leg really hurts." Her voice was hopeful, and slightly sleepy.

Logan paused, then gave in and kicked off his shoes. "Okay, Cassandra, but just for a little while."

He settled himself on top of the covers and slid his arm around her. She rested her head against his chest and gave a happy sigh, listening to the sound of him breathing.

"Logan?" She asked after a long while, sounding even more sleepy. "Tell me about Jean."

"She was beautiful." He replied. "And always tried to make everyone else feel better, even at the expense of her own happiness. She never thought she was better than anyone, even when she was."

"Hmmm." Cassandra murmured. "Did you love her?"

"More than I loved anyone else in a long time." He admitted, then shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. She didn't love me back."

"Silly Jean." She said absently. "Oh, well. I do."

"What?" Logan asked, but she didn't say anything. "Cass?" He glanced down at her and saw she had fallen asleep. Maybe it was just as well. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know what she meant.

* * *

"I'm going to go back upstairs….Warren's in my room." Zephyr said, pausing in front of the stairs. "You'll call us when she wakes up, right?"

"You'll probably hear her screaming when she wakes up and realizes she's down here." Anorra said. "But, yeah, I'll call."

Zephyr glanced over at Samantha's bed, where Kurt was sitting. "Has he moved all day?"

"No." Anorra said, shaking her head. "He feels bad. I think he's really worried that the knife was poisoned and that's why Sam hasn't woken up yet. I brought him some food, once, and we had a conversation in German for a bit, but other than that, nothing. But I had Piotr talk to, sometimes, when he's up."

"Oh. You want me to stay a bit?" Zephyr asked.

Anorra shook her head again. "Nah. You go spend time with Warren…It's his first battle, right? He probably needs some comforting."

"Yeah." Zephyr said. "But we've been together all day, so…"

"Go ahead. Someone else will be down to visit one of them, soon." Anorra said.

Zephyr nodded. "Okay. See you later." She headed upstairs.

Anorra sat back down next to Piotr, who was currently sleeping. She cast a worried glance over at Samantha and Kurt, then turned her attention back to Piotr.

Kurt shifted his weight, his eyes never moving from Samantha's face. He picked up his hand a made a move as if to rest it on her cheek, but then he hesitated and instead gripped the cross around his neck. He murmured a prayer in German, then another one, the steady sound of it comforting him. After a long while, Samantha stirred. Kurt paused, his expression hopeful.

"Samantha?" He asked.

"I'm fine, love. Really, I'm all right." She murmured.

For a brief moment, he thought she was speaking to him, but then her eyes opened and he saw that they were a bit unfocused. She must be speaking to one of her animals.

"Kurt?" She asked, as her eyes came back into focus. "What…how long have I been out?"

"About twenty hours." He said, then asked, "Who were you speaking to?"

"Apatche." She replied. "He's one of the horses. We sort of hit it off." She paused. "Have you been here this whole time?"

Kurt blushed lightly. "Yes. I was worried about you."

Samantha lifted her right hand and rested it against his cheek. "Thank you. But you didn't need to. I'm fine."

"I just wanted to make sure. You blocked that knife from hitting me." He said.

She nodded. "I didn't want you to get hurt."

Kurt frowned. "But you were hurt instead. And Beast is not sure what the knife was made of."

Samantha shrugged. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't hurt, anyway."

'It does matter!" He said, perhaps a little too loudly. "It should have been my injury."

She shook her head at him. "You should be used to people defending you in battle. You're a veteran X-man."

"Yes." Kurt said, quietly. "But not you."

Samantha didn't really hear him, since she was looking at the IV in her right hand. "Is this morphine?"

Kurt nodded and Samantha unwound the tape with her left hand, then pulled out the needle.

Kurt gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Going to my room." She threw off the covers and stood up, holding onto her bed for a moment until she regained her balance. "Don't need to be here."

Samantha lurched towards the stairs. Startled, Kurt got off of his chair and started after her, but he wasn't fast enough. Anorra, in full dragon form, had been expecting Samantha to make a run for it and was now standing in front of the stairs.

_Back to bed._ Anorra commented, grabbing the collar of Samantha's bathrobe with her teeth and carting her back over to the bed. She plopped her down on top of it. _Stay. _

Samantha pouted. "I'm fine. I'm not even injured at all."

_Make sure she stays there. _Anorra said to Kurt, then returned to Piotr's side and shifted back into her human form, putting her bathrobe back on.

"She is right, Samantha." Kurt said. "Please, remain here. At least until Beast can figure out what the knife was."

She started to make a protest, but her green eyes met Kurt's gold ones and her argument deflated.

"Okay." Samantha told him, covering his hand with hers. "Will you be here?"

Kurt ran his thumb gently across her bandaged hand. "I'll be here."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** This chapter is sort of abrupt, so apologies for that. There's a bunch of short scenes in here, which I attribute to writer's block and everyone being scattered. And entirely too many people being emo. Especially Rachel. No more emo for you! And, uh. Stuff. I have little sleep and lots of caffeine in my system right now, so sorry if some of this doesn't make sense. Anyway. People who sent flames will be yelled at in angry German by Abby and then engorfed by Paesha's chest. So there.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

That morning was the first Sunday in a long time that Kurt didn't go to church. Samantha told him he should go, but her system was still a little fried from Backlash's energy whip and she had fallen asleep pretty much right after she said that. So he stayed, sitting by her side. And that was how Bobby found him when he went downstairs before breakfast, hoping to talk to Piotr. Unfortunately, Piotr was asleep. Anorra was sleeping as well, curled up on the floor in dragon form next to Piotr's bed.

Kurt was awake, though, and he was always a good person to talk to. Bobby definitely needed some good advice right now. Although Bobby did feel a little strange asking the blue mutant for advice about his love life.

Still, Bobby approached him, asking, "Kurt? Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?"

"Jawohl." Kurt said. He glanced over at Samantha's sleeping form, then pulled Bobby a safe distance away so they wouldn't disturb her.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Samantha opened one eye and peered around a bit. When she saw that everyone was otherwise occupied, she carefully slid out of her bed. Being extra specially quiet, Samantha slowly pulled her IV from her hand and tip-toed across the room. When she reached the stairs, she had to stop for a moment and steady herself against the wall. Then she began the painstaking process of climbing up the stairs. Fortunately, the morphine that was still in her system prevented her from feeling any real pain.

When she reached the head of the stairs, she paused again, then started walking towards the stables. Every so often, she stopped to rest against a wall. It was during one of these rests that she ran into Rachel.

"Um. Are you supposed to be out of bed?' Rachel asked.

"Shhh." Samantha hissed. "I'm sneaking out. I'm going to the stables."

"Oh." Rachel replied. "Okay. I'll tell them you went up to your room, then, when they notice you're gone."

"You rule." Samantha said.

Rachel grinned. "I know. And I'd be doing the same thing if they were keeping me down there."

Samantha grinned back, then gave a wave and began limping onward. Rachel continued back to her room, trying to convince herself that going to talk to Bobby would only add more confusion to the situation. She wasn't doing a very good job, and was on the verge of going to find him when she heard a bamfing noise behind her. She turned around to see Kurt standing there in the middle of a fading cloud of smoke.

"Where is she?" He asked.

"Samantha? She, um, she went to her room." Rachel replied.

Kurt let out something that might have been a snarl, showing off his fanged teeth. His gold eyes flashed in an almost menacing fashion as he crouched before her. "I was just there. And she was not. So. Where is she?"

Wow. Rachel hadn't ever thought that Kurt could be scary. "Um. Stables?"

Kurt disappeared again, and Rachel decided she was really glad she wasn't Samantha. Because she was going to be in so much trouble.

* * *

Rogue absently ran her gloved fingers through Gambit's hair as he slept. She should really leave. She had been in there most of the day yesterday, and all last night. By now, Bobby had to be at least a little suspicious. And Rogue couldn't say it wasn't unwarranted. She didn't know this man, not nearly as well as she knew Bobby. But for some reason, in the week that she had known Gambit Rogue felt closer to him than she did after years of knowing Bobby.

Bobby was still her best friend. He always would be. And she could remember a time when he had been something more, when she had lived for those few moments when she could kiss his icy lips without hurting him. Rogue didn't know when that had stopped. But it had been gone for awhile, now. She just hadn't noticed it until Gambit had thrown it in her face.

Her gaze focused on him, eyes affectionate. Somehow the swamp rat had gotten under her skin. The times when Gambit had been awake enough to talk yesterday, they had held rather interesting conversations. He had been delirious enough to actually answer some of her questions about his past, telling her he had been a thief and he wanted out. He was at Xavier's because he had no where else to go. Like her. Like a lot of the people here, actually. Bobby included.

She gave a sigh as Bobby invaded her thoughts again. Rogue needed to talk to him. She needed to get rid of this slightly nervous, slightly sad, and slightly guilty feeling. Untangling her fingers from Gambit's hair, Rogue pushed back her chair and quietly left the room.

When Bobby wasn't in his room, Rogue went to hers and found him waiting there for her. She closed the door behind her and he looked up.

"Rogue…" He started, at the same time as she said, "Bobby…"

They paused for a moment, gazing at each other. When they saw the same look mirrored in both their eyes, the two of them understood.

"Yeah." Bobby said, giving a slightly sad smile. "It was great while it lasted, wasn't it?'

"It's not all gone, Bobby." Rogue said. "And what we have is still pretty good."

Bobby nodded, opening his arms for a hug. She fell into them, hugging him back.

"I don't think this really changes much, does it." Bobby said.

"No." Rogue agreed. "I think this happened awhile ago, and we just didn't see it. You know I'll always care about you, Bobby."

"Me too." He said, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "You're my best friend."

Rogue smiled, giving him a squeeze before pulling back. "And that's good enough."

* * *

Samantha shifted her weight and Anorra lifted her head, growling softly. Anorra and Kurt had found the injured mutant in the stables, leaning against the tack room door for support as she unlocked it. Anorra had been ready to change into her dragon form, pick Samantha up, and go on another destroying dragon run to the medical facilities, but Kurt had simply grabbed them both and teleported back. Then Samantha and Kurt had held a brief, quiet conversation that ended with Samantha promising to remain here until she was released. Anorra wasn't really sure how Kurt had managed to do that. It was probably because he was blue and furry. And it was also entirely possible that Samantha had been too distracted by his tail, which had been twitching about erratically during their conversation, to realize what she was really saying.

In any case, Anorra wasn't as worried about Samantha trying to escape now. When Samantha said the words "I promise," it was pretty much a given that the thing she was promising would be done. Samantha took her word very seriously. Still, though, Anorra had shifted into a dragon and plopped down by Samantha's bed. Just in case.

Besides, it had the added advantage of letting Anorra stay down in the medical area without sitting next to Piotr. The kiss she had given him wasn't something that she could just pretend hadn't happened. And it was making her a bit uncomfortable. The ease that had built up around the two of them was gone, and now Anorra was more nervous around him than ever. She was planning on spending the next few days trying to avoid him, at least until she could sort everything out.

"You know, you two really don't need to stay here." Samantha said. "It's not like I'm in danger of dying or anything. I just got a little fried. I should be out of here in no time."

"Samantha, you're free to go." Beast said as he walked out of his office.

Samantha blinked at him. "I should have a million dollars in no time."

There was a pause, then Anorra shook her head. _Nice try, Sam._

Beast chuckled as he moved over to Samantha, getting her ready to leave. "If only things were that easy. Your heart rate and blood pressure have returned to normal. We have hit a few snags in discovering what material those knives were made of, but we are fairly certain it is no more dangerous than I believed."

"I am glad there is no need to worry, then." Kurt said.

"Me, too. Although I wasn't worried in the first place. Thanks, Hank." Samantha said, giving him a hug. "You're a life-saver."

He smiled, returning the hug. "It's what I do."

Samantha grinned, obviously pleased to be getting out of there. She slid out of bed and began on an unsteady path towards the stairs, commenting, "And now I'm going to take a shower."

Kurt watched her, then asked hesitantly, "Would you like me to assist you?"

Samantha blinked and turned back to look at him. "You wish to help me shower?"

Anorra started laughing and Kurt blushed.

"That is not what I meant." He said. "I meant assistance in getting to your room."

"Oh." Samantha said. "I, um, knew that. And, no, it's okay. I can manage it. Thanks, though."

Beast chuckled again and shook his head, then said, "Oh, Samantha, if you are going to shower, you will need someone to re-bandage your hand and back. Anorra, Kurt, would one of you mind doing it? You two have watched me do it the most times."

Anorra turned her large head to peer at Kurt. _Could you do it? I'm not quite sure I remember it well enough. _

Kurt nodded, then glanced at Samantha. "I will. If you do not mind."

"I don't mind." Samantha said. "And in that case, I think I will take that lift. It'll be faster."

Kurt moved over to grab her hand and the two of them disappeared. Anorra shifted back down to her human form and grabbed her bathrobe, slipping it on.

"How much longer do you think Piotr will be down here?" She asked Beast.

"Not too much longer. The danger of him slipping into a coma is past, and he is a fast healer." Beast said. "He will probably sleep a lot in the next day or so, though." He looked her over for a moment. "You don't have to stay down here with him."

Anorra shifted her weight. "I don't want him to wake up alone."

"You don't have to worry about that." Bobby said, coming down the stairs. "I came to visit. I'll stay here until he's awake, if you want to go upstairs."

Anorra debating things for a moment, then nodded. "I think I'll go change and grab some food. Tell him I'll come see him later when he wakes up, okay?"

"Sure thing." Bobby said. "See you later."

Anorra waved and headed up the stairs, trying not to feel like she was abandoning Piotr.

* * *

Pyro yawned and stretched out as he woke up. He was used to sleeping in the middle of his bed, so he was glad that Charm had left after they were done. She had said something about him being damn good and having to do this again as she got dressed, but Pyro didn't remember much of that. He had fallen asleep pretty much as soon as she had left.

It was a good thing she had been so flippant about it. Magneto didn't discourage relationships amongst his followers, but he did discourage one night stands that would end in tension and cause problems for the team. Fortunately, this one night stand didn't seem to have left any tension on either side. Although if Pyro's vague memory of what Charm said was right, there might be more that one night to look forward to. Pyro wouldn't mind that. She was a damn fine way to burn of energy. Much more enjoyable than just taking a few hours in the training room.

Something slammed against the wall near his room, then, and it had him bolting out of bed. He grabbed his lighter and flung open the door, instantly on guard. Backlash was standing in the hall, her whip clutched tightly in her hand. Toad crouched a few feet away from her. The dent in the wall next to him and the small dustings of plaster on Toad's coat told Pyro that Toad had been the thing slamming against the wall.

Before Pyro could say anything, Toad's tongue shot out. Backlash easily reached up and snatched it, preventing it from reaching whatever its target had been.

"You try to hit me with this one more time and I'll cut it out and feed it to you." Backlash said calmly, releasing his tongue.

Apparently unaffected, Toad grinned at her. "You can grab my tongue anytime you like, luv."

"Find a room and just go at it." Pyro told them. "And stop disturbing people."

Backlash raised one eyebrow and turned to look at him. "Like you and Charm went at it last night?"

Pyro shrugged. He didn't really care if people knew he got laid. "More or less. Probably less, considering I won't be there."

"Poor boy." Toad said. "Does it comfort you to believe that you're a man?"

"I'm more man than you are." Pyro replied. "But then again, it's had to be less man than a toad."

"Whip them out and compare, you two, or shut up." Backlash said. "And Pyro, keep this thing away from me or I might exterminate it."

"Hey, you came to see me." Toad said, but Backlash was already walking away. He sighed. "Oh, well. Now, let me tell you about proper sex etiquette when your room happens to share a wall with two others."

* * *

Zephyr spread out a blanket over the spot in the woods that she and Warren had chosen for their picnic. Now that they were certain their friends were going to be all right, the two of them had decided to try for that second date. She couldn't remember whose idea it was, but sometime during one of their many conversations yesterday, the suggestion of a picnic had been brought up. So today, they had packed up some food and headed out into the woods.

The clearing they had found was perfect. It was shady, but not too dark, and the sun still streamed in through the branches overhead. The grass was almost soft enough to sit on by itself, but they chose to use their blanket, anyway.

"Do you know what you're going to teach yet, or what classes you're going to take?" Zephyr asked as she sat down next to him.

Warren shook his head. "I don't know if I'll be teaching anything, actually. I am going to be taking a couple of classes, though. I'm really looking forward to the Mutant Ethics class that Professor Xavier is going to teach."

She smiled. "I'm in that one, too. Maybe we can be study buddies."

"I'd like that." Warren said. "And I'm sure you could help me get settled into the class."

"I've only been here for a little over a week, so I might not be the best person to help." She said. "But I can definitely give it a shot."

"Well, I'd rather have you, anyway." He said. "You were the first person I met."

She blushed slightly. "I'm glad I was. I really like spending time with you."

"Me, too." Warren said. "You're not like the other girls. I don't feel awkward around you at all."

"Good." She said. "I wouldn't want you to feel awkward around me. And give it some time, you won't feel awkward at all anymore. Before you know it, you'll be getting pranked yourself."

"Pranked?" He asked.

She nodded. "It's sort of a tradition with my friends. We all prank each other. Did you hear what we did to Rogue and Gambit?"

Warren laughed. "Handcuffed them together? Yeah, the whole mansion knows about that."

Zephyr grinned. "We set a great example for the students, don't we?"

"The students love you." He said. "They can relate to you. Besides, you know when that sort of stuff is inappropriate."

"Pretty much because of Anorra." She said. "She's sort of the group baby-sitter. Of course, when she has too much sugar, she's just as bad as we were. We were sort of infamous at our college, even though no one really knew who did all of the pranks we pulled."

"Oh?" Warren said. "Like what?"

"Well, one time, Anorra shifted into dragon form and she and Rachel flipped the glass dome roof of one of the buildings upside down. Then we filled it with a bunch of tropical fish that Sam got. Apparently the fish were utterly amused by it. The administration wasn't, though. It took them forever to get all of the fish safely out." She said. "And then one time we replaced the football team's sauna water with diluted perfume, so when they went into the sauna after practice they came out smelling like Britney Spears' Obsession. And a bunch of other stuff. We were going to figure out how to tap into the water fountains and replaced it with beer, but we came here before we got a chance."

Warren laughed. "You guys should do that here. Only on the teacher's floor, though. Xavier might be upset if we encouraged his students to drink."

Zephyr grinned. "You know, that's a good idea. I'll suggest it."

"Just make sure you let me know when you're doing it." He said. "I want in."

They continued chatting for awhile, until Zephyr offered Warren a piece of pie and accidentally dropped it in his lap. He scraped it off and flicked it at her, which prompted an all out food war. By the time they got back to the Institute, both of them were completely messy, but oddly happy.

* * *

Medication, lack of sleep, and limitless energy were not a good combination for Cassandra. Especially not when she was left alone. She had woken up in Logan's arms, and for awhile he had stayed with her, but for some reason he had seemed a little uncomfortable around her. Finally, she had told them that she needed some time alone to rest and he had left. After that, her friends cam in at various times to hang out with her. Now, though, she didn't know where they had gone off to. It was late, so maybe they were all sleeping.

Cassandra wasn't tired, though. Well, actually, she really was, but her brain had shut down before it could convince her body of this, so she was still awake. Not entirely functional, but awake. And she was on her way to take a shower. That probably wasn't a very good idea, seeing as how she had forgotten to take off the bandages on her leg. Of course, none of this occurred to Cassandra. She just wanted a shower.

She was so out of it that she didn't realize one of the shower stalls was occupied. Not even when she opened the shower curtain and walked right inside. Apparently she had gone into the wrong showers, because it was Logan's shower she was invading. He stared at her, obviously with absolutely no idea what to do. Cassandra went about completely unaware of him there, setting down her shampoo and other shower items. Logan started to say something, but before he could get anything out she unwrapped her towel and tossed it over the top of the shower door.

She turned around and finally spotted him. "Logan! What are you doing in my shower?"

"Your shower?" Logan asked.

"Cass? Hey, Cass, where are you?" Zephyr shouted from out in the hall.

"I'm in the shower!" Cassandra replied.

"The men's shower?" Samantha said. "What are you doing in there?"

"It's not the men's shower. It's my shower." Cassandra said, opening the shower curtain as Anorra, Samantha, Rachel, Rogue, and Zephyr walked into the room.

"Oh. Um, hi, Logan." Rogue said, blushing and turning her eyes downward.

Logan nodded, still not quite sure what was going on.

"Come on, Cass, it's time for bed." Anorra said.

"But I'm not sleepy." Cassandra protested.

"Yes you are." Rachel said.

Cassandra shook her head. "Me no sleepy. Me happy! Look, he's happy too!" She pointed at Logan.

Which, of course, made everyone look downwards to where she was pointing.

"Logan, put your pants on." Samantha told him. "There are some things I really don't want to see."

"Yell at her, she walked in on me." Logan said, but he grabbed a towel and tied it around his waist.

"Awww. No more happy. Look, I can still kind of see it!" Cassandra announced, reaching for Logan's towel.

Anorra caught her hand. "No. Logan is keeping his towel."

"He has to hide his shame!" Cassandra commented gleefully.

"I think it's time to leave now. Fast." Zephyr said.

Rogue was still blushing and staring at the ground, trying really hard not to remember her crush on Logan.

Anorra draped Cassandra's towel over her, and the rest of the girls dragged her out of the shower, despite her protests.

* * *

Rachel stood in the hall with her towel wrapped around her and holding her keys. She was staring back and forth from the door to her keys to the door again. They had worked when she left for the showers. They had locked her door and everything. So why weren't they working now? To make matters worse, she had knocked on all of her female friends' doors, but none of them had answered. Of course, she hadn't really expected them to. Cassandra had keeled over as soon as they dragged her from the shower and put her in bed, Samantha was still a little shaky from her injury, Anorra was probably with Piotr so he wouldn't have to spend his last night in the medical facility alone, and Zephyr and Rogue had most likely just slept through her knocking.

She didn't know that Zephyr and Anorra had snuck into her shower and switched her keys. If she was a little less tired and it wasn't quite as late, Rachel probably would have concluded that something suspicious was going on. As it was, though, she continued to try to open her door until she gave up and began to bang on it in frustration.

Right about this time, Bobby was heading back to his room. It must have been a bathroom trip, since he was wearing boxers and a tee-shirt rather than a towel. He paused, though, as he saw Rachel engaged in battle with her doorknob.

"Um, something wrong?" He asked.

"My key's stupid." She said. "Either that or I am, because it's not working."

"Want me to try?" Bobby offered.

She handed him the key and he struggled with it for a few moments before shrugging.

"The lock must be jammed. It happens sometimes. You should talk to Sc…Professor Xavier tomorrow." Bobby said, changing names when he remembered Scott still wasn't here.

"Oh, goodie. Sitting out here all night will be so much fun." Rachel muttered.

"Did you knock on someone's door?" He asked.

"Everyone's except you and Piotr." She said. "They're all either not there or sleeping."

Bobby hesitated, then suggested, "You, um, want to stay in my room? You can borrow a shirt and a pair of sweats, and I can sleep on the floor…."

Rachel bit her lip. Rogue had told them about her and Bobby's break up. Rachel tried to feel bad for Rogue, but she couldn't help being a little bit happy that Bobby was single. And Rogue had said that the break up was mutual. Still, though, Rachel felt a little uncomfortable spending the night in her friend's ex-boyfriend's room. Actually, she felt a little uncomfortable spending the night in any guy's room. Especially when it happened to be a guy she sort of liked. Although it was better than spending the night in the hall.

"Um. Okay. If you don't mind, that is." Rachel said finally.

He smiled at her." I wouldn't have offered if I minded."

They headed to his room, and Rachel shut the door behind them as Bobby dug around in his dresser. He came up with a pair of blue sweatpants and a black shirt, which he offered to her.

"Here. These don't fit me anymore, so they're probably better than anything else I've got." He said, then turned his back to her so she could dress.

When she was finished, Rachel stepped forward into his line of view and said shyly, "You, um, don't have to sleep on the floor. It's a pretty big bed, so as long as we stay on separate sides, we should be fine."

"All right." Bobby said shyly. "As long as you're sure."

Out in the hall, Zephyr and Anorra grinned at each other after they had watched Bobby and Rachel disappear into his room.

"Good." Anorra said. "Now maybe they'll stop being so emo."

Zephyr nodded. "And now all we have to do is get Rogue and Gambit together and everyone will be happy."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** Another sort of disjointed chapter, but oh, well. There's a lot going on in this chapter. Rachel doesn't have that big of a part, though, so sorry. I was going to write one more section with her, but my brain died. Plus, certain people made me write this chapter instead of my final paper. Certain people who will remain nameless. There, it's up? Happy? And, you know, usual comments about flames, Abby's angry German yelling, Paesha's chest, and now some vague comments about intestines being eaten.

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Rachel and Bobby had every intention of staying on their separate sides. But somehow, during the night, they had both sort of gravitated towards the middle until they had ended up right next to each other. They weren't cuddling, exactly, but Bobby was lying on his back and Rachel was on her side next to him, one arm tossed over his stomach. Both of them were sleeping soundly, which was probably how Zephyr and Anorra had been able to sneak into the room so easily that Monday morning. They had switched Rachel's keys back, giving her the ones to her room again, and then quietly taken pictures of the two of them before leaving without Rachel or Bobby knowing.

"Think we should use these to prank Bobby?" Zephyr asked as they looked through the pictures on Anorra's digital camera.

Anorra considered, then shook her head. "Nah. These are more blackmail material. We can think of something better for the prank."

"Good point." Zephyr agreed. "Do we have any ideas about that?"

"Sam said something about Viagra in the ice cubes, but I'd be worried about that. There's always a chance that someone else could get it." Anorra said.

"Ewww." Zephyr said. "What if the Professor accidentally got it?"

"Zephyr!" Anorra said, wincing. "I didn't need to hear that."

Zephyr grinned. "Sorry. Too bad Sam isn't here. We probably could have given her another bad mental picture."

"And then she would have killed you." Anorra said.

"Which would suck." Zephyr said. "So maybe it's a good thing that she's not here. Besides, we did sort of just kill her plan."

Anorra shrugged. "We can do better. We just have to think about it."

* * *

Kurt was nearly done with his acrobatic routine when he spotted Samantha entering the gym. He watched her from the corner of his eye as he finished. Her eyes followed his every movement, admiration obvious in them. He had seen that look directed at him before, but that was only the faces of people that did not know what he really was. And Samantha's was somehow different. He couldn't figure out why, but he did like it. When he was through, he dropped down in front of her, expecting some form of the usual startled scream.

Instead, though, she grinned at him. "You're really good at that, you know."

He blushed. "Thank you. How is your hand feeling?"

"You're welcome. And it's fine." She said. "Sorry if I interrupted your practice."

Kurt shook his head. "I was just about finished anyway. Shouldn't you be resting?"

Samantha smiled. "Nah. I slept in late, so I'm not tired. Besides, I realized that I was really rude earlier because I never thanked you."

He blinked. "For what?"

"Hank said you caught me, during the battle. So I figured you probably saved my life." She said.

"I was only returning the favor." He said, glancing down at her bandaged hand.

"It's not like I really did much." She replied. "You probably could have just teleported away or something."

"Not if I was not aware that it was coming towards me." Kurt said. "Which I was not."

She laughed. "Okay, so we both helped each other out, then. Still, I wanted to thank you for staying with me, too. Even though I was sort of a pain."

Kurt chuckled in return. "I didn't mind. The conversation was pleasant. Although I don't understand why you were so against staying down there."

Samantha shrugged. "I just don't like hospitals. It wasn't too bad down there, but I hate just sitting around, feeling helpless. Especially not when there are things I should be doing."

He considered that. "I suppose I could understand feeling that. But wouldn't it be better to wait until you are healed and could perform better?"

"I wasn't hurt that bad." She commented, then grinned. "Although I can't believe you teamed up with Anorra to keep me in there. I think you actually scared Rachel."

Kurt blinked. "Is that surprising to you?"

"Well, yeah. I don't really think of you as the scary type." She said, then added. "Um, no offense or anything. Obviously you can be scary if you try."

He shook his head. "I am not offended. Not many people seem to feel that way."

"Really?" Samantha asked. "I guess I just can't see that. Sorry."

Kurt smiled, amused. "You are apologizing for the fact that you do not find my appearance scary?"

"Okay, well, when you say it that way it sounds kinda stupid." She admitted. "Fine. Be that way."

He laughed. "Does this mean I win?"

"For now. But I'll get you back." Samantha said. "I will, watch."

He grinned. "You are very entertaining, do you know that?"

"Wow. That's quite a compliment, coming from a professional entertainer." She said, winking. "Oh! Hey, it's almost time for breakfast. You want to sit with us today?" Her voice was casual as she attempted not to show how anxious she was about the answer to that question.

Kurt blinked for a moment, considering that. He usually ate with Storm, Hank, Charles, and occasionally Logan or Scott. Or by himself, if the mood struck him. The idea of sitting amongst so many people was a little intimidating. Still, though, he found himself nodding. "I would love to."

She beamed at him, not bothering to hide her happiness. "Great! You can sit next to me."

* * *

When Bobby woke up late that morning, Rachel was still sleeping. For some unknown reason, waking up next to her felt as natural as if he had been doing it for a long time, so it took him a few moments to realize that her arm was tossed over his stomach. He kept still, not sure what to do. He didn't want to stir and wake her, but he couldn't just keep lying in bed forever. Fortunately, before he had to make a decision, Rachel shifted beside him and opened her eyes.

Bobby turned to face her and. "Morning."

"Morning. What time is it?" She returned sleepily, smiling back at him. She snuggled closer to her pillow, feeling comfortable enough there that she almost slipped back into sleep.

"Just after eleven." He replied, preventing her return to sleep.

"Oh. We missed breakfast." She said.

Bobby nodded. "Yup. Oh, well. I usually do on Mondays."

"Mmm." She murmured, then asked, "You didn't have an early class today, did you?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I don't have anything until one."

"Okay. Good." She said, rolling onto her back and stretching. "Oh. Um, hey, thanks for letting me sleep here."

"No problem. It wasn't like I minded having a pretty girl sleep in my bed." He teased.

Rachel blushed. "Shut it, you."

"I'm just kidding." Bobby said. "But, you know, any time you want to repeat the experience…."

She shoved him playfully and he laughed. They lay there in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry about Rogue." Rachel said suddenly.

Bobby blinked at her. "What are you sorry about?"

"I dunno. But break ups tend to suck." She said.

He shook his head. "This one didn't. It had been coming for awhile. Besides, I think she'll be happier with Gambit. I know they haven't done anything yet, but it's sort of obvious."

Rachel tilted her head at him. "What about you?"

He considered for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm happy right now. That's all I need to know."

* * *

Zephyr rested her head against Bobby's shoulder as she struggled to stay awake. It would be a really bad thing if one of the TAs couldn't even prevent herself from falling asleep in class. It wasn't as if Storm's piloting class was boring. It really wasn't. Storm was an excellent teacher. It was just that Zephyr had been up late with Anorra switching Rachel's keys, and then she had woken up early that morning to switch them back. Over all, she had gotten about four hours of sleep. Which meant she was really tired.

And Bobby's shoulder made a good pillow. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind that she was using him to sleep on. She and Bobby TAed for this class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which meant they had already had three classes to talk in. And it was why Zephyr felt comfortable enough to sleep against him. Despite her tiredness, though, Zephyr found herself unable to sleep.

She lifted her head and Bobby grinned at her.

"Tired?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said. "Didn't get much sleep last night. Probably not a good idea to sleep in class, though."

He chuckled. "It doesn't set the best example for the students, does it?"

Zephyr shook her head. "I'm still not used to this whole example thing."

"I am." Bobby said. "I grew up with a younger brother. My parents always told me to set an example for him."

There was something bitter about Bobby's tone that made Zephyr change her response from a comment about her own brother to, "You okay?"

"Yeah." He said, shrugging. "I just don't really like thinking about it. I, um, sort of had a falling out with my family about a year ago."

"Oh." Zephyr said. "That sucks. Can I ask why?"

"I had to tell them I was a mutant." He said, his voice slightly sad. "My little brother freaked out. He called the cops on us. My parents supported his decision." Then the bitterness crept back into his tone as he added, "It probably didn't help that John's attempt to stop the cops ended up nearly burning down our house."

She nodded. Rachel had told her and the others about Bobby's ex-best friend. "I'm sorry. Why'd you have to tell them?"

"It was when we were invaded." Bobby said. "We ended up at my house. Besides, I couldn't keep it a secret forever."

"I know what you mean." She said softly. "My father and brother still don't know. I'm afraid to tell them."

"Why?" He asked, then smiled a bit. "I mean, just because my family reacted badly doesn't mean yours will."

"I have a feeling they will." She admitted. "My mother knew. She told me to keep it a secret from them. She said they wouldn't understand. That always confused me a little. She kept telling me that my powers were a blessing and that I was perfect the way I was. But she never told my father or my brother."

"I guess we'll never understand what makes people act the way they do." He said. "But I try not to let it get me down too much. After all, I have everyone here. This place has been like a home to me since I came here when I was fourteen."

"It feels like a home to me, too." She said, smiling at him.

They talked for the rest of the class, bantering back and forth easily until Storm dismissed them.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Anorra decided that taking over the sauna for awhile sounded like a really good idea. She headed downstairs to the girl's locker room outside of the gym, where she changed out of her clothes and wrapped a towel around herself. She then walked over to the sauna and programmed it for high steam. Grabbing her waterproof iPod, Anorra slid inside the room and closed the door, sitting down on one of the furthest benches. She switched on her iPod, then closed her eyes and leaned back as tango music filled her ears.

True to her thoughts the day before, she had managed to keep from running into Piotr all day today. She wasn't sure what he thought of her avoiding him, but at the moment she wasn't entirely positive that she cared. Anorra couldn't believe what she had done. She could only attribute it to a brief lapse of sanity due to shock. Normally Anorra was very level-headed, the most level-headed of her group of friends. Of course, considering her friends, that wasn't saying much. Still, though, Anorra knew how to keep her cool.

But something about Piotr lying there, with the possibility that he would never wake up, had made Anorra incredibly scared. She had always been very protective of the people she cared about, and had a tendency to get really pissed off when someone hurt them. It had never been that bad, though. Of course, she had never experienced the near death of a friend before. And Piotr…There was something about him. Something that made Anorra think of him as more than a friend, even if she wasn't entirely aware of it.

Anorra gave a slight sigh. She didn't want to be thinking about this. Sometimes she thought her life had been simpler when she was living on her own in the woods. Although she usually didn't keep that opinion for too long. All she had to do was remember how lonely her life had been before Samantha, Cassandra, Zephyr, and Rachel had practically forced her to be their friend. Anorra had never regretted becoming friends with them, though. She still didn't, not even now when it had led to her sitting here with her irritating confusing thoughts. And she didn't regret coming to live at the mansion, either. She felt more at home here than she had anywhere. Ever.

That thought made her feel better. And it calmed her thoughts enough that she was able to relax back against the bench, clearing her mind into pretty much nothing. By the time the steam started fading, she was almost asleep. As such, she didn't notice that Piotr had come into the sauna until he saw her.

"Hello, Anorra." He greeted. "I didn't realize you were in here as well."

She jumped, her eyes landing on him and the towel that was his only covering. "I. Um. Oh."

He smiled. "I take it you did not know I was in here, either?"

Anorra shook her head. "No. I, um. I need to go now."

She stood up abruptly and practically ran out. It wasn't until she was outside of the sauna and had closed the door behind her that Anorra realized her abrupt motions had caused her towel to come undone and she was no longer wearing it. Which meant that it had fallen off somewhere inside the sauna. And was still in here. Anorra froze. She could try to run back to the girl's locker room and hope she wouldn't meet anyone on the way, or she could go back inside the sauna and retrieve her towel. Neither of those options sounded very appealing.

Before she could decide, Piotr cleared his throat behind her. She turned around and saw that he had opened the sauna door a crack, enough to stick his hand out and offer her the fallen towel.

"I believe this is yours." He said from behind the door.

Anorra let out a small squeak before she got herself under control long enough to grab the towel, stutter out a thank you, then wrap it around herself and dash off.

* * *

"What's wrong, Anorra?" Hank asked, swinging up to sit down next to her.

Anorra was currently perched on a tree branch, her legs dangling over the side of the branch. She was absently stripping the dead leaves off of a fallen twig as she stared off into the sunset, but as she heard his arrival she turned to smile at him. They had talked quite often during her time in the medical facility and she was quite fond of him.

"I don't know." She said, then sighed. "I really wish I hadn't kissed Piotr like that. Everything's so confusing now."

"Ahh." Hank said. "People do unusual things when they're under stress."

She frowned. "I don't. I'm always the level-headed one. I don't know what was wrong with me."

"You were concerned about him." He said. "I'm sure he doesn't fault you for it."

Anorra smiled slightly. "No, I'm sure he doesn't. He wouldn't."

Hank noticed her smile and the soft tone of affection in her voice and gave a smile himself. "Then what's the problem?"

"I don't know." She said. "I guess I'm the problem. I'm all uncomfortable around him."

"That's natural." He said. "Give it a few days and the feeling should subside. You two were good friends before, weren't you?"

She shrugged. "Not really. We were just friends, I guess. But I was really starting to feel comfortable around him. Which is a big step. Or was."

"Perhaps you just need to speak with him, then, and sort everything out." He suggested.

"I would, but I just freeze up every time I'm around him. And then I usually have to be somewhere else." She admitted.

Hank chuckled. "I was the same way myself in middle school. I was terrified of girls."

"How'd you get over it?" She asked.

"I joined the football team my freshman year of high school." He said. "Then it was pretty much a requirement to be around girls. And after that, I came here."

Anorra smiled. "You were one of the first students, weren't you?"

Hank nodded. "For a long time, it was Scott, Jean, Ororo, and myself."

"Who are Scott and Jean?" She asked.

He glanced down briefly. "Jean died last year. She sacrificed herself to save her teammates."

"Oh." Anorra said. "I'm sorry."

"So I am. She was a wonderful woman. She was engaged to Scott." Hank said. "He hasn't been the same since she died. His change was one of the main reasons I came back to teach at the school."

"Is he still here?" She asked.

"Sometimes. But not very often. Not often enough to be considered a teacher." He shook his head. "I almost couldn't believe it. The Scott I knew would have never abandoned this place, not for anything."

"He must have loved her very much." Anorra said. "For it to change him so much."

"Yes, he did. He still does." He said. "I think he knows there are other important things to be done, that people still need him, but….I don't think he's quite gotten over the shock yet. No one seems to be able to reach him."

She considered that. "Where is he now?"

Hank shrugged. "I'm not sure. Charles must know, but he seems to feel that Scott just needs time. I hope it will be enough. Scott's presence is very much missed."

"I noticed that some classes were on hiatus, like the auto shop class that Sam wanted to take. Were those his?" Anorra asked.

"Yes. A few others were as well. He usually ran the Danger Room sessions. Logan has been subbing for him." Hank said. "Logan does do a good job, though. I'm certainly not dismissing his work. I just think it would be better for all concerned if Scott was back. Especially for Scott himself. He needs his family, whether or not he knows it."

"Does Scott have real family?" She asked.

He nodded firmly. "He does. We are his family, and that is more real than some blood related families out there. We're your family, too." He told her.

Anorra blinked at him, startled that he seemed to know that she was thinking about being alone except for her friends. Then she smiled. "I guess you guys are."

* * *

Kurt was walking back to his room when he heard the sound of someone singing in German coming from one of the rooms in the left wing. The words were loud, angry, and filled with lyrics about destroying things and killing. Eyes widened, he followed the music to Cassandra's room and knocked on the door. The music quieted, but didn't stop, then Cassandra opened the door.

"Hey, Kurt. What's up?" She asked.

"Um. Do you know what this song means?" He asked.

Cassandra shrugged. "Sort of. Hey, it's angry. And therefore happy!"

Kurt stared at her. "Um…."

"Hey!" Cassandra said, eyes lighting up. "You can translate! Come on in."

Without giving him a choice, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room, closing the door behind them.

She plopped down on the bed, then informed him, "Have a seat."

There was an absence of chairs in her room, so Kurt paused for a long moment, then sat down on the bed. He had enjoyed eating breakfast with the group, but he was not sure he felt comfortable sitting on the young woman's bed. It was really not proper. And if he was sitting on anyone's bed, he would rather it be….He cut off that train of thought, then asked, "Erm, you wished me to translate the songs?"

"Huh?" Cassandra asked, then shook her head. "Nah, that's okay. It's more fun when I don't know what they're saying."

Kurt blinked at her again. She was very random, this girl. He rather enjoyed it, actually, and he smiled. "All right, then. I will keep from mentioning what they are saying."

"Thanks." She said. "How long have you been here?"

"A little under a year." He answered.

"You were in the circus before that, right? Sam said you were really good." Cassandra said. "She mentioned something about wanting to watch you again, but she probably didn't tell you that. She has odd moments of random shyness."

Kurt blushed slightly. "No, she did not mention that. She really said I was good?"

"Yup." Cassandra said. "And she started talking about people being stupid and thinking you were scary, but I sort of tuned her out. She has a tendency to not shut up sometimes." She grinned. "Sort of like me. But she's worse, really."

Kurt laughed. "I was discussing something like this with Samantha earlier. She does talk quite a bit. But the things she says are usually worth listening to."

"Maybe when she talks to you." Cassandra said. "Sometimes she makes no sense, though. Of course, we all do that sometimes."

He smiled. "The mansion is certainly more entertaining since you arrived. And in a good sense."

"We try." She said, smiling back at him. "Oh! Hey, what's Germany like? I've always wanted to go, but I've never been. I went to Greece instead."

Kurt blinked for a moment at the rapid subject change, then went with it, describing his homeland. He lapsed into German a few times, and was surprised to discover that she understood it.

"I took German in high school." Cassandra said. "I'm not as good as Anorra, though."

He nodded. "Anorra is in my advanced German class. She is one of my best students. You should have taken a class."

"I should have." Cassandra agreed. "But there were other things I had to take, and I really didn't want too many classes."

"Would you like to join Samantha and myself on Mondays and Wednesdays? You could help me teach her. Teaching is the best way to learn a language." He said.

Cassandra shook her head. "Nah. I wouldn't want to interrupt Sam's alone time with you. She really enjoys it."

He looked surprised. "Does she?"

"Yeah. I think she likes you." Cassandra said, grinning. "Don't tell her that, though. I don't think she knows it yet."

Kurt blushed darkly. "I'm sure she doesn't. Not in the way you are implying."

Cassandra shrugged. "She goes on about how pretty you are. But that might just be her being special."

He didn't know what to say to that. Kurt found it rather impossible to believe that someone would make any big deal about him being attractive, not unless they were being sarcastic. "Um."

"Oh. I'm embarrassing you, aren't I?" She asked. "I seem to be doing that a lot lately."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Cassandra shrugged. "Logan's been avoiding me. I think I might have done something stupid while I was on medication."

"Whatever happened, it is most likely not your fault." He told her. "Logan often does that. He is not very sociable, but he really is a good person."

"I know." She said, smiling. "He's really just a big softie. Still, though, I probably did something."

"Don't worry about it." Kurt told her. "If you like, I will tell him that you wish to speak with him when I see him."

Cassandra smiled and hugged him on impulse. "Thanks, Kurt. I'd appreciate that."

"It is no problem. I do not mind helping out a friend." Kurt told her, hugging her gently back. "I should let you get some sleep now."

"Oh, who needs sleep?" Cassandra said, grinning. "But, yeah, it is kind of late. I'll see you tomorrow. Are you going to eat breakfast with us again?"

"Sure. If you do not mind my company." He said.

"We love it." She told him. "Especially Sam. She'll probably steal you to sit next to again, but, oh, well."

Kurt shook his head slightly, then smiled at her as he stood up and headed for the door. "I will see you at breakfast. Guten nacht, Cassandra."

* * *

Logan leaned back on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table and smoking a cigar. It was late, just past midnight, so most of the students were sleeping in their rooms. And those that weren't were being quite about whatever they were doing, so Logan wasn't concerned. Besides, he had other things on his mind. He had avoided Cassandra the whole day, not wanting to talk about what had happened last night. He especially didn't want to discuss what had happened the night before that. Logan wasn't even sure what that was. He also wasn't sure why holding Cassandra had brought up strong feelings, stronger even than the ones he had felt around Jean.

Jean had been the only woman he could remember loving. He still loved her. But then what was this emotion that Cassandra stirred up? It was starting to be hard to be around her without wanting to do something really stupid. Logan wasn't used to reigning in his desires. When he wanted something, which was rare enough itself, he usually just damn well got it.

His straightened up, then, as he heard someone walk into the room, but relaxed when he realized it was Samantha.

"Hey, Logan." She greeted. "I should have figured it was you smoking."

"It bother you?" He asked.

Samantha shook her head. "No. My brother smokes that brand. You mind if I hang out in here a bit? I sort of miss him."

He shrugged. "I don't own the room."

She took that as agreement and sat down on the couch next to him. "Thanks."

"Uh-huh. So you got a brother?" Logan said.

She nodded. "Trent. He's a few years older than me."

He switched his cigar to the other side of his mouth. "He a mutant?"

"Nope." She said. "Human. He knows about me, though. So do my parents. They're great about it, which I guess is pretty rare around here."

"Yeah." Logan said, remembering what had happened when Bobby told his family that he was a mutant. "You're lucky, kid."

"I know." She agreed. "But I think, for a lot of people, being here almost makes up for it. You guys are sort of like a family."

Logan agreed. Since he had made the decision to through his lot in with them instead of going with Stryker, that's how he had felt. Like these people were his family. But he didn't say anything. Instead, he just shrugged.

Samantha looked at him for a moment. "I can feel you, you know. Not very much. Almost not at all. But it's there. You have a little animal in you."

He was startled, but he didn't show it.

When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I think that's why I trust you."

"I'm not sure I'm a good person to trust, kid." Logan told her.

Samantha shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I do. Hey, can you feel me? Some connection or something?"

Logan hadn't thought about it, but now that he concentrated, he could. Some vague emotion that he couldn't sense enough to recognize but knew wasn't him. "Not really. Just a little. Stay out of my head, though."

"I couldn't get in it if I tried." She told him. "You're not an animal. Not really."

"I thought you said I was." He countered.

She shook her head. "Not enough to count. You only have a little. I dunno, you better than me. I only know that you feel okay to me. Which is good."

"If you say so." He said.

"It is." She said, then fell silent.

They sat there for awhile, a comfortable silence stretching between them.

Then, Samantha said quietly, "You should talk to Cass. She's worried that you're avoiding her."

"I don't know what to say to her." Logan admitted. "Stuff like that is not my territory."

"Still. Something is better than nothing. She really likes you, you know." She said, then stood up. "I'm heading to bed. See you tomorrow."

Logan nodded, mulling over her last comment. He knew. He just didn't know what that meant for him.

* * *

He shouldn't be here. Logan knew that, but it didn't stop him from knocking on Cassandra's door anyways. He wasn't sure she'd be up, since her medication usually put her to sleep before now, but he figured he'd give it a shot. It took a moment, but Cassandra finally opened the door, looking wide awake and unmedicated.

"Hey, Logan." She greeted, trying to hide how happy she was to see him. "What's up?"

Logan shifted uncomfortably. "Look, Cassandra, about lost night. Um, I just wanted to let you know that it was the hot water, not you. Not that you're not pretty or anything, but…"

"Logan." Cassandra said slowly, in a 'you are slightly crazy' voice. "What are you talking about."

He paused. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Never mind. It's not important."

"Okay." She said, blinking at him. "You wanna come in?"

"Sure." Logan said before he could think about it. But then it was too late, so he walked into her room and she closed the door behind him.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Cassandra asked.

Logan shrugged. "Okay. What?"

"Did I do something stupid while I was on the meds? Cause you've sort of been avoiding me lately." Cassandra said.

He winced. He knew that she was going to ask something like that. He just didn't know how to reply to it. Finally, he settled for, "Not really."

Cassandra frowned at him. "You're lying to me, aren't you? I did do something stupid."

Logan sighed. He hated this. He was no good at this stuff. He even screwed it up with Jean, what made him think he'd be able to do it with Cassandra? "No, it was my problem, not yours."

"If I did something to make you uncomfortable, then it's my problem, too." She insisted. "I have a right to know why you're mad at me."

"I wasn't mad at you." He said. "I was just…"

"Freaked out." She said. "I knew it. I freaked you out. Oh my God. I kissed you, didn't I? I remember something embarrassing like that."

"Why would you think you kissed me?" Logan asked.

Cassandra blushed. "Um. No reason. I wouldn't. Not because I don't want to. I mean….Oh, crap. I'm just digging myself further into the ground, aren't I?"

Logan looked at her for a moment. During their conversation, she had moved closer to him until they were less than a foot apart. Now, before his rarely appearing logical side could show up, he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. Cassandra blinked, then went with it, deepening the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms slipped around her waist and he pulled her against him.

When they finally pulled apart, they were both panting for breath.

"I don't think that was quite enough." Cassandra murmured. "Let's try that again."

She kissed him once more, and he went into it. By the time they pulled away from a break that was longer than a simple breath, Logan's shirt was off and Cassandra's was rumpled. They looked at each for a moment, and then were kissing again. Finally, before it could go further than a long make-out session, Logan pulled away.

"You should get some sleep, Cass." He said. "You're still healing."

"Logan…." Cassandra said. "What just happened?"

"I don't know." He admitted.

"Do you regret it?" She asked.

Logan shook his head. "No. Don't ever think that I regret kissing you. It's the first thing that's made me forget in a long time."

Cassandra blinked at him. "Forget what?"

"What I remember of my past." Logan said, then shook his head. "Not tonight. I'll tell you later."

"You promise?" She asked.

"Yeah." Logan said. "I promise. Now get some sleep."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **Short-ish chapter because I'm getting used to the sudden thirty degree increase in temperature. Next chapter should be longer, with a bunch of Zephyr to make up for the fact that she hasn't been in it much. And some evil good-ness. And ahhh! I miss you guys so much! sniff

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

With classes, Danger Room sessions, and healing, the rest of the week passed quickly and before everyone knew it, it was Friday. By now, all of the new people pretty much felt at home there. Although it had made some of them nervous, the battle the week before had only served to strengthen their bonds.

Kurt had eaten breakfast with them every morning, although he still ate lunch and dinner with the older adults. Samantha had finally realized that she still had his coat and had reluctantly given it back to him at their German class on Wednesday. He didn't seem to mind the delay, though, as he didn't comment on it. Besides the lessons and sitting next to him at breakfast, Samantha didn't see Kurt much. It was fairly obvious this disappointed her, though, since she had been caught more than once at other meals staring in his direction. She never commented on it, though, and any teasing just resulted in her saying he was pretty. Samantha spent some more time with Logan, since she had martial arts with him three times a week, and was starting to become a little suspicious of the way she could nearly always pick up Cassandra's scent on him. Samantha had yet to say anything, though, so no one else was aware of anything going on.

And there was something going on, although Cassandra wasn't entirely sure what it was. But she and Logan had held impromptu make-out sessions two more times that week, once more in her room and once during a Danger Room session. Neither of them talked about it afterward, although surprisingly they weren't at all awkward around each other. It was sort of like nothing unusual was happening. Cassandra wasn't saying anything, not even to any of her friends.

Anorra was completely avoiding Piotr. If she saw him in the hall or walked into a room where he was, she would casually turn around and walk the other way. When the group hung out together, Anorra said as little to him as possible, even though their other friends seemed to constantly be trying to get them to talk. When they tried it too much, Anorra would quietly leave and go hang out with Beast. She still hadn't figured out what to do with those pictures of Bobby and Rachel, although she and Zephyr had told Cassandra, Samantha, and Rogue about them.

Rachel and Bobby had been hanging out quite a bit, both flirting although neither seemed to realize it. The rest of their friends had noticed and probably would have done something, but they were more concerned with Anorra and Piotr. At least Rachel and Bobby were flirting. Rachel also spent some time Gambit, who she got along with pretty well. Which was sort of odd, since Gambit liked the ex-girlfriend of the guy that she liked. But it seemed to work for them, so oh, well.

Gambit and Rogue were nearly inseparable. Rogue always had that 'I'm only putting up with him' air about her, but her friends knew better. Gambit flirted constantly, mostly with Rogue although he did occasionally turn his attentions elsewhere. Only in fun, though, as it was obvious where his affections lie. Rogue had become more or less part of the group of girls, and now the six of them hung out randomly in people's rooms late at night, usually accompanied by Bobby, Warren, Piotr, or Gambit.

Zephyr and Warren had gone on another date Wednesday night, and this time they managed to finish it without any interruptions. They had also made plans to go out again Saturday night, and they seemed to be becoming pretty exclusive. Nothing on that topic had been discussed, though, so neither of them were entirely sure where the other stood.

There had been no further attacks on the mansion, although Xavier had had little luck in finding out what the reason behind the first attack had been. Cerebro was unable to locate any of the mutants that had been responsible for the battle, which meant that Magneto had somehow found a way to hide more than just himself from Cerebro's power. Xavier hadn't given up, though, and he was currently devising a plan to try and locate Magneto's headquarters.

* * *

"You're stupid." Samantha commented, invading Anorra's room and plopping down on her bed.

Anorra blinked at her. "Excuse me?"

"Stupid." Samantha repeated. "You."

"Thanks." Anorra said. "I love you, too."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Talk to Pete. He's moping and it's frightening. Guys that big should not mope."

Anorra frowned. "Why is he moping?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you refuse to hold a decent conversation with him?" Samantha said. "What is with you and not talking to guys that you like?"

Anorra blushed. "I do not like him."

"Yeah." Samantha said. "And that's why you turn that really amusing shade of metallic pink and make random excuses every time we try to make the two of you talk. Come on, it's been a whole week since the kiss thing. Just go talk to him."

"I don't have anything to say….You know how I get." Anorra muttered.

Samantha nodded. "You clam up and make interesting squeaky noises. But you're still talking to him. He thinks he did something wrong. If you don't talk to him, we're going to lock you two in a closet until you do. Rach, Cass, Zephyr, and Rogue are already picking out the perfect one."

Anorra paled, her eyes widened. "You guys wouldn't."

Samantha beamed. "We so would, and you know it. We're giving you ten minutes to go knock on his door. If you don't, we'll start plotting. And then, when you lease expect it, closet time."

Anorra stared at her as Samantha slid off of the bed and headed out of the room.

"Ten minutes." Samantha repeated before she closed the door.

Anorra opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to decide what to do. Finally, she stood up and walked out of her room, marching over to Piotr's door. She knocked, then waited, taking a deep breath. She could do this. She could. Then the door opened and her mind went blank, except for the incredibly strong thought that she hated her friends.

"Hello, Anorra." Piotr said, sounding surprised, although there was a smile on his face. "I haven't talked with you much lately."

"No. I, um. Hi." Anorra managed.

Piotr's smile faltered a bit, then he held the door open. "Would you like to come in?'

"'Kay." Anorra said softly, walking inside almost on instinct.

Piotr closed the door behind her. "I was going to come find you soon. I wanted to ask you if I had done anything wrong."

Anorra shook her head immediately, and probably a little to enthusiastically, since her hair began flying in her face. She stopped, biting her lip. "No. You didn't."

"Then why haven't you been speaking with me lately?" He asked.

She shifted slightly. "It's just….I…that thing, when you were hurt, and…"

"Oh." Piotr said. "Anorra, please do not be uncomfortable around me because of that. I understand it meant nothing. That it said nothing about your feelings for me. I do not wish for things to be awkward between us. I enjoy your company very much."

Anorra did, too. Or at least she had been starting to before everything was pretty much reversed. "Umm…"

"I understand that it may be difficult for you." Piotr said. "You don't act the same way around me that you do around everyone else. You seem to be much shyer. I do not understand why, yet, but I would enjoy the chance to find out."

She blushed slightly. "I'm sorry. I…"

"It is all right. Will you try, though?" Piotr asked, locking his eyes onto hers.

Anorra found herself nodding. "Okay, Piotr. I'll try."

* * *

Rachel watched with an amused smile as Bobby tossed a tennis ball into the air and swung his racket at it. He hit it, but too hard, since the ball soared over the net, out of the court, and smacked into a nearby tree.

Bobby grinned sheepishly. "Oops."

She shook her head, still smiling. "You're getting that."

He ducked his head slightly and started jogging to retrieve the wayward tennis ball. Bobby had asked Rachel for a private lesson, telling her that he knew absolutely nothing about it but it sounded interesting. Really, though, he just wanted to spend some time with her. And he had wanted to impress her, but, well, that wasn't going to happen. Bobby had only been exaggerating a little when he said he knew nothing about tennis. He was better at sports with more contact, like football or soccer. He was pretty good at baseball, too. But apparently not tennis. Oh, well. At least he could hit the ball.

As he picked up the ball and headed back for the court, he decided that if he couldn't impress Rachel, he could make her laugh. Bobby was usually pretty good at that. He liked hearing Rachel laugh, and seeing her smile. Both of them were beautiful. And if he was the cause of it, then that was just even better.

Getting an idea, Bobby grinned and tossed up the ball to hit it again. As he swung, he iced the handle of the racket to his arm, making the tennis racket an extension of his hand. The ball connected and this time, he managed to actually keep it in the court. The ball even hit the ground inside the line.

Rachel blinked at him. "Um, what's that?"

"It's my new and improved tennis technique." Bobby said. "I'm tennis hand!"

"Tennis hand?" She repeated, trying to sound like she thought it was the stupidest idea ever. It didn't work, though, because even she could hear the amusement in her voice. She gave in and laughed, shaking her head.

Bobby grinned back at her, pleased. "You think they have any rules against tennis hands playing in the professional games?" He asked, taking a few exaggerated practice swings. "Cause, you know, I – ouch!" Bobby cut off his own sentence as the iced racket slipped a bit on one of his swings and smacked into his forehead. "Okay, I'm no longer tennis hand."

Rachel dissolved into laughter, trying to hold it back unsuccessfully as she asked between giggles, "Are you….okay?"

"Yeah." Bobby muttered, rubbing his forehead gingerly. "Just apparently really stupid."

"I won't argue with you on that one." Rachel told him, then grinned. "But it was funny. Even before you hit yourself. Then it was just hilarious."

"Oh, ha ha." Bobby grumbled, but he was smiling slightly. "Go ahead and laugh at my pain."

"I already am." Rachel said cheerfully. "Do you need to go down to the med lab?"

"No." He said. "It's just a little bump."

"Okay." She said, then began gathering up her stuff. "I think we better call it a day. We wouldn't want a return of tennis hand."

Bobby stuck his tongue out at her as he grabbed his fallen racket, then turned and headed back inside, trying to hid the slightly throbbing red lump on his forehead. Of course, he couldn't, since the first people he ran into were Samantha and Cassandra.

Cassandra blinked at him. "Bobby, what happened?"

"Did Rachel hit you with her tennis racket?" Samantha asked. "She does that. You have to watch out for her."

Bobby darted his eyes around the hallway, then nodded. "Yes. That's what happened."

Rachel picked that moment to walk into the hall, so Samantha towards her.

"Rachel!" Samantha said. "Quit hitting people with tennis rackets."

"I didn't do it." Rachel protested. "It was 'tennis hand.'"

"Tennis hand?" Cassandra asked. "Who's tennis hand?"

"Ask Bobby." Rachel said. "He and tennis hand are very close."

Bobby turned red and ducked his head, causing Samantha and Cassandra to glance at each other.

"What, is tennis hand Bobby's new boyfriend?" Cassandra asked.

"No!" Bobby and Rachel insisted at the same time, before both of them blushed and fell silent.

"Awww." Samantha said. "She's defending his honor."

"How sweet." Cassandra agreed.

"Shut it." Rachel muttered, glaring at them. "Bobby's tennis hand. He whacked himself with a racket."

"Oh God!" Cassandra said. "So many ways to interpret that! Sam, hit me!"

Samantha obligingly reached out and smacked her shoulder, then threaded her arm through Cassandra's. "Come on, let's leave them alone. Maybe Rachel can be tennis hand for awhile and Bobby can be the tennis balls."

"You're not helping!" Cassandra said as they started off.

"I hate you both!" Rachel yelled after them.

"Yeah, you guys suck!" Bobby agreed.

Cassandra turned around and opened her mouth, then paused. "Not saying it. Not saying it. Come on, Sam, time to leave now before it gets worse."

* * *

Cassandra was dead. She really was. It was times like this that she wished she could get tired, so she could use that excuse. But, unfortunately, she didn't. Her stupid body was still full of energy, ready to go get itself beat up again. It was just the lovely bruises on her shoulders and hips from the many falls she had taken that were protesting any further movement. Unfortunately, she still had a long way to go before reaching her room.

She had just finished a Danger Room session with Logan. It had been almost two weeks since he had started training her to defend herself, and he had finally decided to let her have a go in the Danger Room. Of course, Cassandra sort of thought that it may have been because they hadn't actually gotten much work done in their lesson yesterday. With no one else around, working so close together, they had gotten a little carried away. They had ended up spending most of the time on the floor, making out. Not that Cassandra really minded. She didn't mind their random make-out sessions, even if she never could seem to predict when they were coming.

Although moving the lessons to the Danger Room hadn't really helped, either. There had been one point where the two of them were crouching behind some bushes, waiting for their enemies to come by….And, well, there had been kissing. But then they had been ambushed, which had ended that. The lesson hadn't lasted too much longer after that.

Now she was headed back to her room, looking forward to sitting down and not moving. But, of course, that plan was ruined when Samantha darted out from around the corner, very nearly tackling her.

"Ow! Bruises! Pain!" Cassandra commented.

Samantha let go. "Oh. Sorry. You're finished with Logan, though, right? Come on, we're going to play Truth or Dare!"

Cassandra groaned, but let the other woman drag her off to the recreation room where the usual group was waiting.

"Found her!" Samantha said, dropping down to sit next to Anorra and pulling Cassandra down with her. "Yay! And I get to go first. Okay, Anorra, truth or dare?"

Anorra stared suspiciously at her. "I hate it when you go. Either one I pick is going to be bad. Okay, dare."

Samantha grinned. "Oh, good. Go kiss Piotr."

"And none of that little peck stuff, either, you have to do a full on kiss." Rogue informed her, grinning as well.

Both Piotr and Anorra blushed darkly. Anorra probably would have refused, but she had eaten more than her normal amount of sugar that day and was a bit hyper. Plus, she knew that her friends would come up with something even more embarrassing if she didn't do it. So before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned forward across the circle and pressed her lips against Piotr's. He responded, kissing her back, and for a few moments she was lost in the kiss. Then someone cleared their throat and Anorra remembered herself, pulling back.

"There." She said, sitting back down and trying hard not to blush. "Now it's my turn. So, um, Rachel. Truth or dare."

"Dare." Rachel said, still amused from Anorra's predicament.

Anorra considered for a moment. "All right, go sit in Bobby's lap. For the rest of the time we're playing this."

Rachel shrugged. "Bobby, do you mind?"

"Nope." He said cheerfully. "Go right ahead."

Rachel was already sitting next to him, so she just slipped into his lap, settling herself down and trying not to blush. It would be less fun for everyone else if she didn't seem embarrassed. "Cass. You're up."

"Somehow I knew it." Cassandra grumbled. "Truth."

"Aww, no fun." Rachel said. "Okay, then, how far do you want to go with Logan?"

"Eww!" Samantha said. "I don't want to think about that!"

Cassandra hesitated, then shrugged and said, "All the way. He's hot."

"Oh, yuck." Samantha said. "Nasty mental pictures."

"Gambit didn't need to know that information, either, petite." Gambit said.

"Yeah, well, just for that, you're up, Gambit." Cassandra said.

The game continued for nearly two hours. By the time it was drawing to a close, all of the guys had their shirts off, Gambit was only in his boxers, nine people had been prank phone called, the shower pipes on the student floors were iced over, Zephyr and Warren had kissed, Gambit and Bobby had gone streaking down the first floor, Cassandra, Rogue, and Samantha had run around the upper levels in their underwear, Warren had flown outside naked, and several other embarrassing things had happened.

Finally, the last person was up. And Cassandra was picking, so she had chosen Samantha.

"Dare." Samantha said cheerfully.

Cassandra paused for a moment, then grinned. "Go skinny dipping in the pool. And stay in there for an hour."

Samantha considered that. It was just past one in the morning, which meant no one would be in there. "Okay."

"And we'll take your clothes and keys, then bring them back in an hour." Zephyr said. "Just to make sure you stay in there."

The women headed for the pool, then Samantha stripped down and dove in. Rachel grabbed her clothes and they left, leaving Samantha alone in the pool.

Samantha treaded water for a moment, then rolled her eyes. "This is the most boring dare ever."

She began doing laps to pass the time, singing to herself quietly. Before long, though, she heard a bamf noise from the other side of the pool. Samantha's eyes widened and she froze, treading water. Kurt had appeared in the doorway to the pool room and was now heading over, carrying a towel and wearing a bathing suit.

He heard her strokes and smiled. "Hello, Samantha. Are you…." Whatever he had been about to say trailed off as he realized she wasn't wearing a bathing suit. Kurt's own eyes widened and he looked away, calling, "Tut mir leid! Es tut mir leid!"

"I, um." Samantha said. "It's okay. My fault. I'm stupid."

"You, um. Do you wish to get dressed?" Kurt asked, not sure what to say.

"Yeah. But, unfortunately, no clothes." Samantha said. "We were sort of playing truth or dare, so, um, I've got nothing for another twenty minutes."

"You were playing truth or dare?" He asked, sounding a bit amused. "I have never played."

"You haven't? How come?" She asked.

"No one ever asked me to." He said.

Samantha blinked. "Oh. Well, come play with us next time. If you don't mind ending up doing embarrassing things like skinny dipping."

"I would like that." He said, then hesitated. "Um, would you like me to get you some clothes?"

"Can't. I'm not allowed to have them before my hour's up." Samantha said, then smiled. "Besides, it's not like it's the end of the world. At least you didn't decide we had to be even and drop your bathing suit like Gambit did to Zeph." She paused. "Although that sort of sucks. I kinda would have liked that."

Kurt was so surprised that he turned to stare at her. "You would like to see me naked?"

Samantha's eyes widened and she blushed darkly. "Okay, that really, really is one of those times where I have to think before I say things. I, um. I'm going to shut up now."

Kurt opened his mouth, the closed it again. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. "I. I should probably go back to my room."

"Yeah. Sorry to ruin your swim." Samantha said, her voice soft.

"You did not ruin it. It was, I mean…I will see you later." He said, then disappeared.

Samantha sighed. "Bad brain. You're supposed to kick in once and awhile and save me from making a complete idiot of myself."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** So, um, yeah. Uber-short chapter with a lot of short scenes, because people didn't seem to want to come out of their boxes. And because I spent most of this week trying unsuccessfully to find a job. And, um, some of it playing Sims. Aheh. But, hey, at least the chapter's up! And apologies for any really bad mistakes…I was typing some of this with a weiner dog puppy sitting in my lap who kept resting her head on my laptop.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

The air that Saturday morning was crisp and clear, and it was too early for any heat to have developed. Which was a good thing, since the six female junior X-men had chosen that morning to go on a trail ride. They had spent most of the trail riding in various pairs, but now the path was wide enough that all six of them could ride more or less next to each other.

"I think this is the best trail ride I've ever been on." Rogue commented. "The horses are so much easier to ride when you're here, Sam."

Samantha grinned at her. "Eventually they'll all pick up English, so it'll be even easier. Apatche here's already got it down pretty good." She said, patting the black gelding she was riding. He tossed his head up and down in agreement and she laughed, shifting her weight slightly.

Samantha was riding with only a saddle blanket, as she didn't need a bridle to direct her horse. She could do so mentally. The others were using either Western or English tack, whichever they preferred. The tack room in the stables was well equipped with both styles.

"So, Zeph, have you and Warren started officially dating yet?" Cassandra questioned.

Zephyr blushed slightly. "We haven't talked about it."

"You haven't?" Rachel asked. "What have you been doing in all the time you've been spending with him?"

Anorra considered that. "Or do we really want to know?"

"It has been awhile since the first date." Rogue said.

"I think those two are just useless." Samantha agreed.

"I'm not useless." Zephyr protested. "You know what, you guys are useless. At least I've gone on a couple of dates. You're all too shy to even ask your guys out."

Samantha blinked at her. "Um, I don't have a guy."

"Me neither." Rogue said.

"Oh, you do so." Cassandra said, keeping silent about herself. "Sam, you're all obsessed with how pretty Kurt is and Rogue, you're totally gone for Gambit. Just admit it."

Rogue blushed darkly. "I am not! Y'all are crazy."

"And just because I think Kurt's pretty doesn't mean he's my guy." Samantha said.

"Protest all you want, but we know better." Anorra said.

"Hey, you're the most useless." Samantha said, pointing at Anorra. "Are you still refusing to talk to Piotr?"

Now it was Anorra's turn to blush. "No! I talked to him last night, remember?"

"She did more than that." Rachel commented with a grin.

"Oh, yeah. There was definite action there." Zephyr agreed.

"Have you talked to him today?" Cassandra asked.

"Remember, closet." Samantha said.

Rogue nodded. "We picked out the perfect one."

Anorra glared at them. "We didn't go to breakfast today, remember? I didn't have a chance to talk to him."

"Okay, but we'll be watching you." Cassandra said. "And if there's no talking, then bring on the closet."

* * *

"Hi, Kurt." Samantha greeted shyly, leaning against the doorway of the gym. "Do you, um, have a minute?" She wanted to talk with him about the, uhh…events that had happened last night. Nothing put a damper on a budding friendship more than someone blurting out the fact that they wanted to see the other party naked. Which Samantha didn't! She wouldn't mind, but it wasn't like she thought about it all the time or anything…And it was a really good thing that she had shut her mouth, since blabbing out those thoughts would really not help her situation.

"Ja." Kurt said, draping his towel over his neck and walking over to her. "I was just stretching." He wasn't entirely sure how to act around her. Because it really wasn't right to be pleased upon hearing that a younger woman wanted to see him naked. It had just been so surprising. No one had ever thought of him like that, at least not to his knowledge. "What did you need?"

"Listen, about last night…" She started, then chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "I wanted to apologize. I didn't mean to blurt that out. And I really don't want things to be uncomfortable between us."

"It's all right." He told her. "I wasn't offended. I understand the things that can sometimes slip out, especially that late in the night."

Samantha swallowed. She should probably just leave it at that. But, for some reason, her stupid little brain wouldn't let her. It seemed to think that it was important that she tell him the truth. "I, um. I sort of meant it when I said I wouldn't mind seeing you without your bathing suit. It's just, you're really attractive, and, um, yeah."

Kurt stared at her for a moment. "You do not have to lie to protect my feelings."

She blinked at him, puzzled. "I'm not. Lying. It's kind of embarrassing for me to tell someone that I find them attractive, so why would I just make it up?"

He knew she hadn't been lying. Her tone had been too genuine. But he was finding this whole situation rather impossible. "You are a very unique girl, Samantha."

"Um, thanks, I think." She said, still looking confused. She sensed the conversation was over, though, so she changed the subject to, "Do you mind if I go with you again to church tomorrow?"

"Not at all." Kurt said. "I would enjoy that very much."

* * *

It occurred to Zephyr that spending so much time in Warren's room probably wasn't putting the best thoughts in her friends' heads. She didn't care, though. She was having fun, sprawled across his bed with her feet kicked into the air as she idly flipped through a magazine. Her eyes were really on Warren, though, who was sitting at his desk doing his math homework.

It was hard to believe that it hadn't even quite been two weeks since he had arrived here. Zephyr didn't know everything about him, but she liked what she knew. She could tell he was keeping secrets from her. He didn't like to talk about his past much. But Zephyr didn't mind. He probably had a reason for not wanting to bring it up, and she wasn't going to push him. Warren would tell her when he was ready.

Her friends' comments earlier that day came to her mind, then, unbidden. She frowned slightly, wondering what to do with them. Zephyr wasn't entirely sure she would be content with casual dating for much longer, but she didn't want to pressure him into anything. After all, they really hadn't known each other that long. Even if it seemed like so much more time had passed. Zephyr was slightly surprised at how attached they had all gotten to each other in such a short amount of time. Of course, it wasn't the first time that had happened to her. When she first started hanging Samantha, Cassandra, Rachel, and Anorra, they had bonded incredibly quickly. So she probably shouldn't be too surprised that it was happening again.

"Hey Warren?" She asked, sitting up.

He turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

Zephyr shifted her weight slightly, debating. Then she asked, "Have you decided on a codename yet?"

Warren blinked at her, apparently sensing that she had wanted to ask him something else. He didn't comment, though he did get up and sit next to her on the bed before saying, "Um, well, you remember when we first met and you said my wings sort of looked like an angel's? Well, I was thinking of using that. Angel."

She smiled brightly. "That's perfect! And you really do look like an angel, you know. And I'm not just saying that because I like you."

He blushed. "Thanks. I, um, like you, too." There was a pause, then he asked, "So do you have a fieldname?"

"Zephyr is my fieldname." She said, then paused before adding, "My real name's Haley. Haley Bardlvick."

Warren looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Zephyr suits you more. But both of them are wonderful, because they're yours."

She blushed, then swallowed and asked, "Um, Warren, can I ask you something?"

"Anything." He told her.

"Have you, you know, thought about this whole us thing at all?" She asked, not meeting his eyes.

"Is there an us?" Warren asked softly. "I'd sort of like there to be."

Zephyr glanced up at him, eyes bright. "Me, too."

He smiled at her, then bent over to catch her lips with his. She leaned against him, slipping one arm around his shoulder and resting it on his wing. Warren twitched slightly at the unfamiliar touch, but before Zephyr could pull away he shifted his wing a bit so that it was wrapped around her back.

They probably would have gone further if there hadn't been a sudden knock at the door, followed by Cassandra calling loudly, "Zeph! If you're in there, come out! Closet time?"

"Warren, you can come, too!" Samantha added.

Warren looked at Zephyr. "Closet time?"

Zephyr laughed slightly. "We, um, threatened to lock Anorra in a closet with Piotr if she didn't talk to him today."

Warren grinned. "Now this I have to see."

* * *

"My friends suck." Anorra said, blushing dark metallic pink. "I'm sorry."

True to their word, her friends had locked her and Piotr in a broom closet. Cassandra had asked Piotr to get something on the top shelf that she couldn't reach, and when he complied she had darted out and locked him in there. Then Zephyr, Rachel, and Anorra had come walking by on their way to the kitchen, and Samantha had yanked the door open while Rachel and Zephyr pushed Anorra in. And now Anorra and Piotr were locked in the closet.

"It is all right." Piotr said, blushing as well. "I, um, I would get us out, but I do not wish to cause damage to the door."

"It's okay." Anorra said. "Someone will walk by soon enough."

Really, they would. Really, really soon. Because being locked in a small space with Piotr was…Wait, why was Anorra complaining here? Oh, yeah, because she was incredibly shy around guys she liked…Not that she liked Piotr…She was just shy around him…Because of the kiss thing, that might ruin a perfectly good friendship…Yes, that's it…

Then, remembering that she had told Piotr she would try to be more comfortable around him, she added, "Not, that, you know, I don't want to spend time with you. It's just, um, small space and dark and stuff."

"I understand." Piotr told her. "I am not too fond of being in a broom closet, either. It makes it better, though, that you are the one I am stuck with. Do you know why our friends are keeping us in here?" He sounded amused.

"Yeah." Anorra muttered, blushing again. "I, um, didn't talk to you this morning. They, uh, they…They're stupid. They seem to think I'm five and can't handle myself."

Piotr considered that for a moment, then decided not to ask why their friends were upset that she wasn't speaking with him. Instead, he asked, "Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow? There's a Russian restaurant in town that has a special on Sundays."

Her eyes widened for a moment as she debated whether the fact that she really, really wanted to go with him was worth more than the fact that she probably wouldn't say much to him during the whole meal. Finally, she nodded. "Okay. I'd, um, love to."

They spent nearly a half an hour in there after that, holding a more or less decent conversation, until a passing student finally heard them in there and let them out. Anorra promised to meet Piotr at his room the next afternoon, then took off, planning on killing her friends.

* * *

It was late. The only reason Samantha was up was because she was crazy and tended not to go to sleep before the sun rose. Well, that, and she wanted a glass of water. Which was the reason that she was downstairs, and thus able to hear it when someone began fumbling with the back door. Samantha froze instinctively, just listening. There was definitely someone trying to get in. Her nostrils re-worked themselves so she could sniff the air and get the person's scent. When she didn't recognize it, she let out a soft growl and padded over to it.

She yanked open the door, her entire body on guard and ready for anything. Except the handsome, and very drunk, man standing there, leaning against the doorknob for support as he inserted a key into it. He was wearing red sunglasses, so she couldn't see his eyes widen, but he seemed startled since he lost his balanced and pitched forward with the door. Samantha was startled herself, but she threw out her arms to catch him.

"Thanks." He said as she draped one of his arms over her shoulder so she could support him.

It didn't work too well, though, since she was about seven inches shorter than him. It was still better than him trying to stand himself, but she didn't think she could help him walk or anything.

"Who are you?" Samantha asked.

He tilted his head up to look at her face, then seemed to sober up a bit. "Who are _you_?"

"Um, no. You're the one trying to break in, you have to answer the question." She said.

"I live here." He said, then paused. "I think. Xavier's gifted for institute kids, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Still doesn't explain who are you."

He frowned at her. "What are you doing here?"

"_I_ live here." She told him.

"Scott." He said finally. "Summers. Cyclops."

Samantha paused, trying to remember why that name was familiar. Then she remembered seeing it on the roster for the Auto Shop class. "Oh. You're Cyclops?"

"S'right. So you?" He asked.

"Samantha." She said. "You don't know me. I got here while you were gone."

"Sorry." Scot said. "Should've been here. Not leaving anymore."

She nodded. "Okay. Good for you." She began wondering how the heck she could close the door and get him inside when she spotted Anorra walking towards the kitchen. "Anorra! A little help, maybe?"

Anorra paused. She was still irritated with Samantha for locking her and Piotr in the closet. She shouldn't take it out on the drunk guy, though, so she headed over to them. "Who's this?"

"Scott Summers." Samantha said.

"Oh." Anorra looked at him for a moment, remembering what Hank had told her. Then she closed the back door and draped Scott's other arm over her shoulders. "Where're we taking him?"

"You students?" Scott asked.

"No." Samantha told him. "We're teachers."

"Okay." He said. "Shouldn't let the students see. Should have drank that much. Shouldn't have left. Shouldn't have stayed gone. Shouldn't have let her…"

"Hey." Anorra said. "Don't worry about it."

"It's okay." Samantha said. "You're back now, yeah? Just, um, we'll just get you sober and then everything'll be okay."

Anorra glanced at Samantha. "Xavier?"

"His room's on the students' floor. Scott's probably right about not letting them see." Samantha said.

_I'll be down in a moment. _Xavier said inside their minds. _Thank you two for helping. _

"No worries." Samantha said.

"We don't mind." Anorra agreed. "We'll take him to the teacher's lounge."

They did so, helping Scott lay down on one of the couches while they waited for Xavier. Before long, he wheeled in. Scott noticed this and sat up, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Charles." He said.

"Scott. It's all right." Xavier told him.

The fatherly tone in Xavier's voice made Samantha and Anorra look at each other, then Samantha said, "We'll, um, leave you two alone, then."

"Yeah." Anorra said. "See you tomorrow."

They left quickly, telling Scott to get better.

Scott shook his head again. "Should've been here. New people that I don't even know."

"Scott, I'll admit that you didn't handle things as well as you could have, but no one's faulting you." Xavier said.

Scott laughed, soft and bitter. "No one? Logan stayed here, didn't he? Logan stayed and I left. Let Logan become more dependable than me."

"Jean's death hit all of us hard, but nothing compared to what you must have experienced." Xavier said, choosing to ignore Scott's comment about Logan.

"I know. Know it." Scott said. "M'the only one that took off. I made things worse, didn't I? Everything…what I believed, who I was, all gone. Let myself die with her."

Xavier reached out and rested his hand on Scott's shoulder. "But you didn't, Scott. You're still alive, still here with people who care about you."

"I know." Scott repeated. "And I'm so sorry I let you down. I'm not going to. Not anymore." His voice hitched slightly. "Jean's dead. I can't change that. But I can…I can be here. And I will."

* * *

He didn't delude himself into thinking that it was impossible for him to lose. It had happened before, and it could very likely happen again. He didn't know how long it had been since the last time he had surfaced. Things were different now, so very different. But everything important, well, that was still the same. Humans didn't change. That was why he had never truly lost. And this time, they were perfect. He couldn't ask for any better. One was already his. It had been so easy. A little display of power, nothing more. The other three couldn't be much harder. He had found them already. They were all in the same town, city, whatever the humans were calling it these days.

He had to watch them. Learn about them. Find what they wanted, needed, and offer it to them. That would make it easier. He had ways of making them his, but it would be so much better if they were willing. Either way, though, they would be his. And then it would begin. This time, he would make sure it didn't end. Because he was starting to grow tired, impatient. Bad qualities, he knew, but it was happening. So this time, this time it would be the end.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: **Whaahahaha. I'm so evil. It's so much fun knowing what's going on and not telling. I like randomly dropping clues…It's fun. And argh! I miss you guys so much! Come visiiit! You know you wanna! Ahem. Okay, on to the story.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Kurt woke up early that morning in order to get a shower in before he met Samantha for church. He had thought a lot about her comments yesterday and Friday night, and had decided that she had only meant it as harmless flirting. That was something Kurt knew how to deal with. Back in the circus, between acts, some of the female audience members would often approach him. It was fun to flirt with the lead acrobat, and none of them knew that his costume didn't include make-up. Kurt had always been at ease with them, his fellow performers often said he had a knack for charming the ladies. They usually added some comment about it being a shame that Kurt didn't have the outward appearance to match his charm, but that didn't bother Kurt. He knew they were only teasing. Most of them.

Still, though, now that he had safely categorized her actions, he knew exactly how to respond. He wasn't at all unsure around her anymore, and it showed in his grin as he left his room and headed for hers. Kurt knocked softly on the door, not wanting to wake anyone else in the hall.

Samantha heard it, though, as the door opened and she smiled at him. "Hey. Gimme a sec, I have to put my shoes on. Come on in."

She left the door open for him as she walked back into her room and he followed her, watching as she sat down on the edge of her bed and reached for a shoe. A lump of blankets stirred, then a small head peaked out from under them.

Kurt blinked. "Is that a raccoon?"

"Huh?" She asked, then glanced behind her and grinned. "Oh. Yeah. Apparently it was too cold out last night, so he came to sleep in here. I'll leave the window open for you, sweetie, so you can go back to sleep."

The raccoon disappeared back under the covers and Samantha stood up, grabbing her purse. "Ready." She told him.

"Do animals often do that?" Kurt asked as they walked downstairs.

She nodded, then grinned. "Yeah. So be glad you're not my roommate."

"Actually, I do not think I would mind." He said. "Either the animals or your company."

Samantha grinned. "Oh, sure, you say that now, but I bet it'd be different when you woke up with a raccoon trying to steal your bed. They're cover hogs, too."

He laughed. "In that case, I'll send all of the raccoons to your bed."

"Thanks." She said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Hey, are we going to do the little bamf-y thing again? Because it's really cool."

"Ah, so now I know the real reason you came to church with me." He said.

"You caught me." She told him. "I only go with you because you bamf."

Kurt grinned. "Well, I guess I shouldn't disappoint you, then. Ready?"

"Yeah!" She agreed and scooted closer to him, sliding one arm around his waist before catching hold of his tail with her hand. "Now it doesn't have to do it by itself, like last time." Samantha said with a grin.

He went along with it, wrapping his tail a couple of times around her forearm. "Thinking ahead, I see."

"I'm good at that." She agreed, then closed her eyes in preparation for the teleportation.

It seemed quicker this time, and not quite as startling, although Samantha figured it was just because she knew what to expect this time. The quick jump had made them early for the mass, so they walked aimlessly for a bit, chatting. Kurt's easy manner put Samantha herself at ease, and soon all worries about how her stupid brain not shutting up had made him uncomfortable were gone. Soon it was time for the mass to begin, so they took a seat in one of the pews.

After the mass was over, Samantha threaded her arm through Kurt's as they filed out.

"You up for grabbing some breakfast before we go back?" She asked. "Apparently my stomach doesn't like it when I don't eat."

Kurt laughed. "Our stomachs must think alike. Breakfast sounds like a very good idea."

She grinned. "Great. We walked by a café before church that smelled incredible, so we should try that. I think it's the reason my stomach woke up, anyway."

They strolled along the sidewalk down the way that they had gone before. Samantha kept her arm through Kurt's, but he didn't think anything of it. He had seen her do the same thing with her other friends, so he supposed he must have graduated from acquaintance up to friend. That thought made him vaguely pleased. Before long, they located the restaurant that Samantha had seen and got themselves a table.

"You still look so weird." Samantha commented after they had placed their orders. "I'm so not used to you without the blue."

"I don't want to frighten people." Kurt said.

"Yeah, they'd probably be really intimidated by your good looks." She said, grinning at him. "At least this way you don't have jealous men challenging you to duels."

He raised an eyebrow, amused. "Maybe I should go out as normal, then. I do enjoy a good duel."

She laughed. "Yeah, but then you'd win and you'd get all of their girlfriends. And then I'd get jealous and have to start challenging some people to duels myself."

"Chicks dig the fuzzy dude." Kurt agreed. "I just can't help it."

Samantha reached across the table to give his arm a playful shove. "Okay, Gambit. You'd really let all of those women fight me?"

"Of course not." Kurt said. "I would swing in heroically to your rescue."

"Okay. As long as I get to watch the swinging." She said. "I bet it's spectacular."

"People did used to pay to see it." He said. "But I'll give you a free show."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm sure you meant it in the acrobat way, but I think I'll take it the other way."

He grinned at her. "What makes you think I didn't mean it that way?"

"Oh, good, then I took it the right way." She said, then grinned as the waitress brought their food. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, honey." The waitress said, giving Samantha a wink before she left.

"I think she liked you." Samantha said.

"I think she liked _you_." Kurt countered.

Samantha considered that. "I think she was complimenting me on my choice of breakfast partners."

"All right, I'll go with you on that one." He said.

They ate in silence for awhile, occasionally making a comment or two about the food.

"Oh!" Samantha said suddenly. "Hey, a bunch of us are playing laser tag before lunch. You wanna join?"

"Sure, I would love to. As long as no one minds losing." Kurt said.

Samantha grinned. "You can be on my team."

* * *

Rachel pressed her body against the wall that sheltered her as she cautiously peered out from behind it. Although it was dark and the dim lights in the alley weren't much help, she could tell that no one was there. Instinctively, she reached behind her. Her hand came in contact with Bobby's and she gripped it tightly. He laced his fingers through hers and she squeezed his hand to let him know everything was clear. They moved forward silently, guns gripped in their free hands. Rachel was left handed and Bobby right, which meant they could hold hands while walking and not really even realize it. Their gun hands were still free, after all.

Bobby stopped suddenly, signaling that he had heard something. Rachel listened as well, and could hear the soft footsteps of someone coming up behind them. They had raised their guns and were about to shoot when Cassandra called quietly, "Just me."

Bobby and Rachel relaxed as Cassandra joined them.

"Where are the others?" Bobby asked.

"Anorra and Sammie are tracking Piotr, Zeph, and Rogue. Kurt was headed towards Gambit and Warren, last I saw." Cassandra replied.

"Not anymore he isn't, petite." Gambit commented as he materialized out of the shadows, gun blazing.

Rachel and Bobby ducked down and rolled to hide behind another alley wall, but since Cassandra was in front of them she was too late and took the shots right on her chest. Her vest started beeping and she pouted.

"This is the second time I've had to sit out." She said, crossing her arms and leaning against a wall.

"It's only for five minutes, petite." Gambit replied, looking entirely too pleased with himself. His eyes widened as his own vest started beeping and he looked wildly around to try and find the shooter.

Kurt sauntered into view. "Have a fun five minutes, mein freund."

"Kurt, have I told you that I love you lately?" Cassandra asked, beaming at him. "So glad you joined us."

"So am I." Kurt said, then disappeared once more.

The teams were a little uneven, since they had eleven people playing. They had agreed to just draw numbers, though, and put six number ones in the hat and five number twos. Anyone who got a number two wasn't allowed to complain about being short. In the end, Zephyr, Rogue, Gambit, Piotr, and Warren were on team two, with Kurt, Samantha, Rachel, Bobby, Cassandra, and Anorra on team one. So far, team one was ahead, but they still had ten more minutes of game time left, so it could go either way.

Unfortunately, before Cassandra and Gambit could even get back in the game, the simulation was shut down and the doors of the Danger Room opened to reveal Cyclops and six of the younger mutants.

"Sorry to cut your game short, but our training session was supposed to begin seven minutes ago." Cyclops told them.

"So not cool." Cassandra told him. "We only had ten minutes left."

"We're scheduled to use the Danger Room now." Cyclops said. "We have to set a good example for the students about how to be on time."

"Were you guys playing laser tag?" One of the girls asked wistfully. "It looked fun."

"Yeah, Ali, we were." Rogue said, coming up to join Gambit and Cassandra. Ali was one of Rogue's favorite students. Ali's power was similar to Rogue's, except that the younger girl could amplify any mutant's power just by touch.

The rest of the laser tag group slowly joined them as well. The group of students were eyeing them longingly, probably thinking that laser tag was a lot more fun than anything Cyclops had planned for them.

"You may join us next time, if you wish." Piotr offered.

Samantha grinned. "That's a good idea. We can make it a big thing, students versus teachers."

"That's not a bad idea." Cyclops admitted. "You should talk it over with Xavier."

The adults headed out of the room then, although Rogue paused for a moment to smile at Cyclops. "It's good to have you back." She told him, then followed her friends out.

* * *

"I think he's quite possibly the most annoying person in the entire universe." Cassandra grumbled. "He just waltzes in there and shuts down our simulation. We still had ten minutes left in it. Okay, so we went a little over our time. Big deal. He should have just let us finish."

"I'm right there with you, darlin'." Logan agreed, taking a drink of his beer. "Cyke needs to loosen that collar around his neck."

"He needs to get the stick out from his ass." She said, making Logan snicker.

The two of them had gone into town for lunch. They were currently occupying an outside table at some bar and grill, waiting for their food to arrive. Logan was drinking beer, and Cassandra was, too, although mainly because he had made some comment about her taste not being good enough for Canadian beer. So she had gotten some just to prove that she could, too, drink it.

"Guess I was wrong about your taste." Logan said, eyes slightly teasing.

"I don't know about that." She teased. "I like you, so there must be something wrong with me."

"Nah." Logan said. "You ask me, liking me and being irritated by One Eye just means you're smart."

"I'm guessing you don't like Scott much." Cassandra said.

"We have different ideas about what's okay to do in front of the students." He said. "Or at all."

"That's a nice way of saying he's a goodie-goodie ass, isn't it?" She asked, grinning at him. "In that case, I agree. I still can't believe he ruined our game." She paused. "You're gonna play with use next time, right?"

"I ain't much for games, darlin'." Logan said.

"Logan, this is a game where you track down people and shoot them." She told him. "I don't think there's a game that more perfect for you."

He considered that. "Good point. And I do have to make sure you X-men don't get your butts handed to you by the students."

Cassandra snorted. "They don't stand a chance. Not against us."

"Few people stand a chance against you." Logan commented, his face perfectly serious, although Cassandra was sure he was teasing her.

"Except you." She said.

Logan smirked. "I'm starting to wonder about that, darlin'."

"Oh yeah?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just what do you find so hard to stand a chance against?"

Logan didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned over to lock his lips with hers. By the time their food had arrived, they were so involved in each other that the waiter had to clear his throat a few times in order to get their attention. When he finally did, he rolled his eyes and placed their plates in front of them, then left quickly, leaving them to dig into their food with full plans to get back to where they were later.

* * *

Across town, though, things weren't going quite as well. Anorra and Piotr had made their lunch date, but they had spent most of it in silence. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't an awkward silence. Anorra actually felt comfortable with him. Which was a really new feeling, one that she hadn't quite settled into yet. They did have a few conversations about Piotr's family back in Russia and Anorra's experiences during her college life, but for the most part they sat in silence.

It didn't really help that the kindly owner of the restaurant kept commenting in heavily Russian-accented English that they were an adorable couple. Every time she did so, Piotr blushed darkly and Anorra found herself even more mute than usual.

She did like being out with Piotr, though. And halfway through their meal, when his left hand reached out to cover hers, she didn't even notice. In fact, she twisted her own hand a bit so that her thumb was over his, absently stroking his hand from time to time.

As the meal progressed, their conversations grew longer and longer, until they were talking the whole time. Most of it was meaningless conversation about classes, teaching, and training, yes, but they were still talking. And sort of holding hands.

Which was a good start.

* * *

Rogue didn't like Gambit. She really didn't. Well, she did, but only as a friend. Nothing more. It wasn't like she could ever really have any more, anyways. She could try, yes, but sooner or later the fact that she couldn't touch would take all of the romanticism out of the relationship. It was hard to be in love with someone you couldn't make physical contact with. Which, of course, meant she was screwed. Because no matter who she fell in love with, it would always be with someone she couldn't touch.

Which was why she wasn't entirely sure why she was currently headed towards the swimming pool with Gambit. She was wearing the full length bathing suit that Ororo had made for her, one that covered everything except for her face. Gambit, being himself, was wearing a speedo. And Rogue had to admit that he looked pretty damn good in it.

"Ain't we supposed to be waiting an hour after eating before swimming?" Rogue asked as they reached the pool.

Gambit waved his hands. "Ah, that's just an old Southern tale."

"Gambit, we're both Southern." She said, hiding her grin.

He frowned at her, trying to figure out whether or not she was serious. After a moment, he shrugged. "You wait, then, chere, and if Gambit drowns you can save him."

"If Gambit drowns, Gambit can save himself." Rogue told him. "I ain't jumping in after you."

He grinned at her. "Guess you'll just have to jump in before Gambit, then."

With that he picked her up and tossed her in, then dove in after her. She came up for air, trying to be angry but she kept laughing. She settled for sending a huge wave his way which, fortunately, he wasn't expecting. Rogue felt quite satisfied as it hit him in the face, leaving him sputtering water. He splashed her back and the two became deeply involved in a water war.

When they finally paused to catch their breath, Gambit was a lot closer than Rogue was comfortable with. Mainly because she really wanted him to be even more close. Gambit reached for her hand, but Rogue pulled away.

"Don't." She told him quietly.

"I can't." He said equally as softly. "Gambit tried this whole friends thing, chere. It ain't working. Gambit wants more."

"I can't give you more." Rogue told him, anger clouding her words. "Don't you think I want to? I can't. I can't touch, or kiss, or do anything that normal couples do."

"Gambit doesn't want any of that." He said, shaking his head. "He just wants you."

Rogue shook her head back at him. "You say that now. I don't really know you, Gambit. I don't even know your real name."

"Gambit doesn't know yours, either." He told her. There was a long moment of silence as they stared at her, then he said, "Remy. Remy LeBeau."

Rogue's eyes searched his. Both of them knew that it wasn't just about their names. If she didn't say hers now, he would take the hint. He would stop trying. Rogue was surprised to find out that she didn't want that. "Marie D'Ancanto."

Maybe they would find some way to make it work.

* * *

"Come on, hon, it'll be fun." Charm commented, leaning her hip against the doorway of Backlash's room.

Backlash scowled at her. "Why aren't you bugging Pyro?"

"Because it's your turn for fun." Charm replied. Really, though, it was because she had been with Pyro every night since last Friday. After over a week with only one guy, Charm usually got fidgety. This time, though, she wasn't. She would be perfectly happy to go "bug" him again. And that made her fidgety.

Backlash just stared at her. "Going to a club is not my idea of fun." Although, honestly, Backlash was considering it. If only because it meant it would get her away from Toad. The irritating mutant had been flirting with her constantly and Backlash was actually starting not entirely mind. She needed to get out. Not to a club, though. And preferably alone.

Charm pouted at her, but Backlash wasn't at all moved, so Charm just sighed. "Fine, be that way." She said, heading off down the hall.

She stopped in front of Aphedria's door and knocked, calling, "Hey, 'Phedria?"

Aphedria's response was a loud snarl that may or may not have been actual words.

Charm backed up. "Um, never mind."

Damn. There was no one in this whole stupid place that would go out and have fun with her. Well, no girls anyway. And going out with guys just wasn't as fun. Guys were usually only good for sex. Except for Pyro. Which was really, really weird. They had only had sex twice more, despite the fact that she had been hanging out with him every night.

Oh, that was it. That was why she didn't mind hanging out with him. Because there was only a small chance they'd actually get anything done, so she had to spend more time with him in order to get the same amount of sex. Damn, that sucked. Unfortunately, Pyro was the only guy around that was really worth doing. So, with another sigh, Charm turned and went for his room.

This time, she didn't even bother knocking on the door. She just opened it and waltzed right in. By now, he did the same thing to her as well, although Charm wouldn't have knocked even if he did. Hey, if he was doing something he didn't want her to see, he should lock the door. Of course, that wouldn't really work, since Pyro's door knew Charm and would open for her, anyway. So, uh, he just better not be doing something he didn't want her to see.

Fortunately, he was only getting dressed. Or maybe undressed, Charm wasn't really sure. Either way, he was half naked, and it was the good half.

"Hey hon." Charm said. "Put some pants on and let's go clubbing."

Pyro blinked at her. "You want to go clubbing?"

"Why not?" She asked. "We've go not plans, no training scheduled, and I know you're done with your big important meetings for today. Besides, Magneto's coming back Tuesday, so this is our last night to go out and have some fun without having to baby-sit newbies."

Pyro grinned. "For you. I'm baby-sitting right now."

"Mmm. Guess that makes you a cradle robber." She commented.

He raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-four." Charm replied cheerfully.

"I'm twenty." Pyro said, marveling briefly at the fact that he was doing a woman four years older than him.

"Ouch. Then I'm the cradle robber, aren't I?" She said, although she didn't seem at all upset about it. Mainly because Charm was a liar. She was nineteen, she just happened to look like she was in her mid-twenties. "So, clubbing?"

He shook his head at her, then grabbed a fallen pair of pants and pulled them on. They were black leather, and he was wearing a black tee-shirt with a flaming skull, so Charm deemed him appropriate enough for the club she had in mind. She, however, wasn't. She opened up his closet as he laced up his black combat boots and found a long sleeved button up shirt in a dark, burning red. Charm grinned and ditched the tee-shirt she was wearing, putting on the red shirt and leaving it unbuttoned over her black bra. Her short black shirt and usual black boots were acceptable, so she turned back to him.

Pyro raised an eyebrow. "This is hardly a fair arrangement. I can't wear your clothes."

"I'm sure you could if you really wanted to, sweetie, but people mind wonder about you." Charm replied. "You ready?"

Pyro shrugged. The only reason he really tolerated her was because it meant he got laid. Plus, going and having a few drinks sounded like a decent idea. "Yeah."

They headed out to her car, then sat back as it drove into town. Of course, Charm couldn't sit still long enough for the whole ride and they had started making out before it was over. Her car pulled up in front of a club with a name that Pyro recognized, although he hadn't been to it. The club was generally mutants only, which was probably why Charm had picked it.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him out while the car went off to go find a place to park. Charm bypassed the line and went right to the front, where she tossed a flirtatious smile at the bouncer.

"Hey, Temp." Charm said.

"Hey sweetie." Temp replied. "Haven't seen you around here lately."

"Been out of town, honey." She said. "I'm back now."

The bouncer's gaze swept over Pyro, who stared defiantly back at him. The bouncer grin.

"You're Pyro, ain't you?" Temp said. "Damn, Charm, looks like you're hanging around a much better crowd these days."

Pyro's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think I'm Pyro."

"You're hot as hell." Temp replied. "I can sense heat. Only one guy could have your temp and still be walking around. Besides, everyone knows about what Magneto's doing for us. I'd join up myself if I didn't have my responsibilities here." He looked back and forth between the two of them. "If you're recruiting, there's a group in booth three that might be interested."

Pyro made a mental note to tell Magneto about this place. "Thanks."

"Any time." Temp said, waving them inside.

"You come here a lot?" Pyro asked.

"I grew up here." Charm replied. "On the streets of New York. Probably why I'm so 'screwed up'." She added, laughing cheerfully at herself. "Where're you from?"

Brief flashes of John's childhood swept through Pyro's mind, making him curl up a lip slightly. "Australia."

"Really?" Charm asked. "Where's your accent?"

"Disappeared after a year on the streets here." He replied.

Charm pouted. "Too bad. Australian accents are hot."

"I might be convinced to bring it back, after a couple of drinks." Pyro said with a smirk.

Charm grinned back. "Guess we better get you some drinks, then."

They spent the rest of the night drinking, dancing, and flirting. Sure enough, after a copious amount of drinking, Pyro's accent came back. Charm was delighted with it, and kept trying to make him talk to her, saying whatever he felt like as long as he kept talking. It wasn't long after that that the two of them headed back out to Charm's car, letting it drive them home while they had sex in the back seat. Hopefully Aphedria wouldn't find out. Because she would probably kill them for defiling the place she had to sit in. For now, though, neither of them cared.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: **Damn am I evil. I love this chapter. And the next one. And the ones after that. Heeheehee. Remember I love you guys?

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Rachel was trying to sleep, she really was. She knew it was long past midnight, and she had to wake up early the next morning to teach a tennis class to some of the younger kids, but she just couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't that she was worried about anything. She was actually pretty content right then. There wasn't much to keep her awake. She just really wasn't tired. With a sigh, she gave up, rolling out of bed and pulling on a sweatshirt. Winter was approaching, making the nights cold enough that she wasn't quite comfortable walking around the mansion in pajama bottoms and a tank-top. She slid her feet into her favorite slippers and padded downstairs, hoping maybe a midnight snack would help her get to sleep.

Probably not, but Rachel wanted one anyways. Maybe she could find Anorra's stash of peach rings and just hope she wouldn't notice that a few were missing. Then again, maybe not. Anorra had some weird way of knowing whenever someone raided her candy stash. Rachel was pretty sure Anorra counted how much candy she had left every time she hid it. Especially now that they had moved into a mansion with dozens of teenagers and little kids. All of whom had mutant powers. One of them might even have the power to find hidden candy. That would just be awesome.

Rachel grinned to herself as she turned the corner into the kitchen. Her smile widened as she saw Bobby sitting at the kitchen counter, eating out of an ice cream carton. He was wearing sweats and a sweatshirt, which didn't give Rachel any clues as to whether he had tried to go to bed or was just staying up after working out.

"Hey Bobby." She greeted.

He glanced up and smiled at her. "Hi Rach. What's up?"

"Couldn't sleep." She said, sliding into a seat across from him.

"Me neither." He offered her the carton. "You want some?"

Rachel considered, then shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She found a spoon and dug into the carton. "You do this a lot?"

He nodded. "Whenever I can't sleep. Lots of people come down here at night, so it's a good place to get some company."

"Guess more people are fans of the midnight snack than I thought." She said.

Bobby grinned. "Guess so. I'm glad it was you tonight, though."

Rachel blushed slightly. "Well, if I can't sleep, you're not exactly the worst company, either. Although it'd be better if tennis was on."

"I think it would be better for you if you were actually at the tennis game." Bobby said.

She smiled, her eyes glazing over slightly. "Yeah. You think I could talk Kurt into teleporting me to Wimbledon this year?"

"If he could teleport that for, he probably would take you." He said. "Although I'm sure if you asked the Professor, he'd let you go. Maybe you could take your tennis students there on a field trip."

Rachel's eyes lit up. "I love the way you think, Bobby. That's the most brilliant idea I've ever heard."

Bobby smiled, looking vaguely pleased with himself. "Always glad to be of service."

They ate in silence for a little while, until Rachel commented, "You know, this makes this pretty much every night that we've run into each other."

"You're right." Bobby agreed. "But at least this time we're fully clothed." He paused, then added with a grin, "You know, you still haven't taken me up on the offer of another sleep over."

Rachel blushed darkly. "Um. I, um…Bobby, I…"

Bobby's grin faded a bit. "Look, Rach, I'm going to be honest with you. I like you. A lot. I just…There's something about you, that makes me feel really comfortable. Like I've known you a lot longer than I really have. Or something stupid like that. But, anyway, the point is that I like you. But if you don't like me, that's okay. Just tell me."

Rachel shifted her weight slightly. She wasn't any good at this. The whole boyfriend girlfriend thing still sort of freaked her out. She wasn't a big fan of commitment. It was fine when they were just friends, with occasional flirting, but now… "I like you, too, Bobby. I really do. Honestly, you're really only below tennis and food on my list of likes…."

Bobby grinned, looking pleased. "Well, I knew I wouldn't beat tennis. And it's hard to be above food. So I come out pretty good, don't I?"

Rachel grinned back, giving a slight snicker. "You do come out good." Oh, it was a good thing her friends weren't there. They'd totally pick apart that comment. She then sobered slightly, though. "I'm just…not ready for anything right now. I mean, I'm only eighteen and I've only known you for about a month…"

Bobby held up his hand. "No worries. It's okay, Rach, it is. Just forget I said anything."

Rachel nodded, but it wasn't likely that she was going to. "All right. I'm, um, going to try and get some sleep, okay? I'll see you tomorrow." She headed up to her room, although she knew she wasn't likely to be falling asleep any time soon. She still wasn't tired, and now she had something to worry about.

Bobby let out a sigh as she left and jabbed his spoon into the ice cream, letting it sit there. He stared at it for a long time, poking at it occasionally, until a slight chuckle announced the arrival of someone else in the kitchen.

"Gambit thinks the ice cream is dead, mon ami." Gambit commented, sitting down in the chair that Rachel had recently left. He was fully dressed, but Bobby didn't have a chance to ask him where he had been before Gambit asked, "What's the matter?"

"Rachel." Bobby said. "I like her, and she says she likes me, but she won't do anything about it."

Gambit shook his head. "Women. Gambit will never understand them."

"Yeah." Bobby agreed. "Women kinda suck."

Gambit chuckled. "Gambit agrees with you there. And it's not always the good kind of sucking, either."

Bobby laughed, then shook his head. "I guess it's not the end of the world. I'll just give her some space."

"I can talk to her, if you want." Gambit offered. "Rachel and Gambit, we get along. She is a great girl."

Bobby nodded. "Yeah. She is. Which makes it suck even more. But, you know, I'd appreciate that. If you think it will help."

"It's worth trying." Gambit said. "Besides, we've talked about you before."

Bobby blinked. "You have?"

"Sure." Gambit said. "Gambit told you we get along."

Bobby hesitated, then asked, "What'd she say?"

"That she wants you." Gambit said, then frowned. "Or something along those lines. Gambit may be paraphrasing a little. But the meaning was there."

Bobby sighed. "So then what's wrong?"

Gambit shrugged. "Hell if Gambit knows."

"Maybe I should talk to one of the girls." Bobby said. "They'd probably understand better."

"True." Gambit agreed. "Women are better at things like that."

The kitchen floorboards creaked slightly, then, although no one else entered the room. Suspicious, Bobby and Gambit stood up, instinctively bringing up their guards. Before either of them could do anything, though, something leaped out of the shadows and tackled Gambit. Bobby jumped over and grabbed hold of the thing, trying to pull it off of Gambit. It was like pulling at molasses, and Bobby couldn't get a good hold on it. He struggled to pull his hands free, but they were stuck fast. The two young men spent a few terse seconds struggling with the thing, and then it sucked them under. They disappeared without a trace, leaving the kitchen empty save for a slowly melting carton of ice cream.

* * *

Anorra gave a sleepy yawn as she walked back to her room. She was still wearing her clothes from Monday, despite the fact that it was technically Tuesday. She and Piotr had gone on a walk around the school grounds. They hadn't really spoken much, but even the silence between them had been comfortable. Anorra was trying to get over her shyness, she really was. She had promised him that she would, after all. And she wanted to. She really liked Piotr. She just really wasn't used to being around people.

She had spent so much time on her own. She aged so much slower than everyone else, so although she had the mentality of someone who was twenty-ish, she had actually been alive for about sixty years. It was only for the last twenty years or so that she had come out of the woods and began socializing with people. She had spent most of that time in foster homes, living with anyone who would take her in despite her appearance. Anorra didn't have any real friends until she met the other girls a few years ago.

Even then, she had never been in a relationship before. So she didn't exactly know what to do with this. Anorra had had a few crushes before, but nothing like this. She had never felt about anyone the way she felt about Piotr. And it made her a bit nervous. Around him, and just nervous in general. When she was with him, she just felt safe. Which was sort of contradictory, since she still couldn't keep herself from stuttering or mumbling when trying to talk to him.

She had time, though. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt like she had a home. And she wasn't going to be leaving it any time soon. Which meant she had plenty of time to get over her shyness. Really, she did.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she spotted Rachel coming from the kitchen, looking troubled. Anorra paused at the foot of the stairs, offering Rachel a smile.

"What's up, Rach?" Anorra asked.

Rachel jumped slightly. Apparently she hadn't noticed Anorra standing there. "Oh. Um, nothing."

Anorra raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, 'cause I believe that."

"Nothing. It's stupid." Rachel said, then shrugged. "Bobby said he liked me."

Anorra blinked at her. "Um, and that's a bad thing because…?"

"It's not." Rachel said. "Well, not really. But now I kinda have to do something about it."

"Still not seeing the bad here." Anorra said. "You like Bobby. It's obvious. You hang out with him all the time, you stare at him randomly, and you talk about him. And Bobby likes you."

"It's not that simple." Rachel said. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Anorra shrugged. "Okay, fine. But you know the other probably won't let it drop."

"I know." Rachel said, then changed the subject. "How was your walk?"

"It was nice." Anorra said. "A little cold out, though."

"Ahhh." Rachel said with a grin. "I thought that jacket looked a little big on you."

Anorra blushed metallic pink. Piotr had caught her shivering once and had offered her his coat. Anorra had declined, but when he saw her do it again, he had shrugged out of his windbreaker and draped it over her shoulders. It was indeed too big for her, but Anorra didn't mind. It was nice and warm. And it smelled like his cologne. When they had separated for the night, both of them had forgotten the coat. In fact, Anorra had forgotten she was wearing it until right now.

"Awww." Rachel said. "He gave you his jacket. That's so cute."

"Shut it, you." Anorra grumbled. "He was just being thoughtful."

"I'm sure he was." Rachel agreed. "So that's, what, two dates today?"

"It wasn't a date!" Anorra said. "We just went for a walk."

"Uh-huh." Rachel said in a disbelieving tone. "I notice you didn't say anything about lunch."

"Hey, no fair." Anorra said. "If I don't get to talk about you and Bobby, then you don't get to talk about me and Piotr." She paused. "Let's talk about Zephyr. She's the first one to have an official boyfriend, after all."

"Hey, yeah." Rachel agreed. "We haven't teased her enough about that. We should make that our mission tomorrow."

"I like that idea. We…" Anorra trailed off, stiffening slightly.

Rachel tensed. Samantha and Anorra had above average senses, so when one of them did that, it usually meant trouble. "What is it?"

"I don't know." Anorra admitted, sounding troubled. "There's something wrong with the air. Or something."

"Should we go get Xavier?" Rachel asked, looking around to see what was wrong.

"I don't know. I think that might…." She trailed off again, letting out a little muffled scream as something grabbed Rachel from behind and began pulling her against a wall. "Rachel!" Anorra shouted, lunging to help her friend.

Anorra reached Rachel just as she began disappearing into the shadow on the wall. The scaled mutant grabbed Rachel by the arms and pulled, trying to free her. Unfortunately, the thing inside the shadow was stronger, and it gave one massive yank, sending both of them tumbling into the shadow and disappearing from sight.

* * *

No one needed sleep. Which was why Samantha had settled herself in the rec room with the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, planning on watching all of the movies before she went to bed. Besides, she didn't have anything until her Latin class the next afternoon, so she could just sleep through breakfast if she felt like it. The night was cold, and her Darth Maul boxers and black Batman tank-top just didn't cut it, so she was snuggled under her fuzzy purple blanket. She had only just started the first movie when Kurt walked into the room, fully clothed and wearing his coat.

"Hey." Samantha greeted. "Did you go out?"

"Just a brief trip to pick up some more milk. We were out." Kurt said. "What are you watching?"

"Pirates of the Caribbean." She replied.

Kurt grinned. "Do you mind if I join you? It's no Errol Flynn piece, but I'm there for any pirate film."

Samantha stared at him for a moment, then grinned. "I love you." She teased. "Have a seat. Want me to start it over?"

"Nah." He said. "It's close enough to the beginning."

Kurt plopped down on the couch, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. Samantha had been leaning against the armrest of the couch, but had straightened when he sat down. She snuggled against him instead, resting her head against his chest. He didn't particularly mind. Kurt was getting used to how touchy-feely she was, and was actually starting to like it a bit.

That had been awhile ago. They had gone through the first movie and were halfway through the second when Samantha gave a bit of a chuckle.

"What?" Kurt asked.

"It's almost one o'clock in the morning." She said. "When you fall asleep in your early class tomorrow, you should tell your students that you were up late watching pirate movies. It'll be funny."

He chuckled. "I imagine it would be. Hopefully I can manage to refrain from falling asleep, though. I doubt that would make a good impression on my students."

"Yeah, but telling them that you watch pirate movies would." She said with a grin. "It's impossible not to love pirate movies. Really, it is."

Kurt laughed. "I certainly think so, but I'm not sure everyone would agree with us."

"Oh, no." She said. "They would. Because I said so."

"And no one would dare go against something once you have spoken." He said.

She grinned. "Exactly. I always win."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I seem to recall being the winner last time we discussed winning."

Samantha frowned. "That's right. Dang it." She paused. "Oh, but I put on the pirates movie. So I win again."

He opened his mouth to reply, but then hesitated. "Do you hear that?"

She didn't respond right away, since she was already sitting up, peering around the room. "No. I don't hear anything. At all."

Kurt nodded. The movie was still playing, and they could hear each other, but all sounds outside of the room had ceased. The mansion had stopped creaking, the faint music coming from the room above this one was gone, and even the crickets outside had fallen silent. And eerie, an entirely unnatural calm had spread over the mansion.

Samantha stood up, slipping her socked feet into the black sneakers she had left under the coffee table. "Something's really not right here."

"I agree." He replied, joining her. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up as he shifted his weight, looking around. "We should go get the Professor."

A low growl, too low for normal ears to pick up, began to sound throughout the room. It took Kurt a moment to realize that the sound was coming from Samantha. He glanced back at her, the look of unease on his face mirrored in hers.

"I don't think we're alone." She said, her eyes darting about the room.

Something lunged out of the shadows, then, jumping straight at Samantha. She ducked and the thing flew over her head to disappear into another shadow.

"We're under attack." Samantha said, her voice slightly absent as most of her concentration was spent on trying to find where the shadow thing had gone.

"We must warn the others." Kurt agreed, holding out his hand to Samantha so he could teleport them out.

She reached for it, but was shoved aside by another shadow thing. She rolled, springing to her feet a little bit away from him. "Go. I'll take care of this."

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving you." Kurt raised his voice. "X-men! The mansion is under attack! Professor Xavier!" He yelled, but was only met with silence. "I don't think anyone can hear us." He told Samantha.

Samantha considered that. "Well, the animals can still hear me." She sent out a mental shout and felt them responding, rousing themselves from their sleep in order to make as much racket as possible. "We can't hear them, but they're up and making noise."

"Hopefully whatever is affecting us isn't affecting the whole mansion." Kurt said.

She paused. She hadn't thought of that. "Damn. I hope not."

They remained in silence for a moment, then Kurt began slowing inching towards her. The shadow thing lunged again, this time making Kurt jump upwards to grab onto the wall and remain there, eyes searching the room wildly.

"I think it reacts to movement." Kurt said.

"I think you're right." Samantha replied. "Maybe we can trap it? I'll lure it out and you grab it?"

"Sounds like a plan." He said, crawling across the wall until he was right above her. "Read when you are."

Samantha moved forward and the thing came out, barreling towards her. Kurt released his grip on the wall and pounced on it, pinning it to the ground.

"Nice shot." Samantha said, grinning at him.

"It was nothing." Kurt said, then let out a surprised exclamation in German as he began sinking into the shadow thing that he was holding onto.

"Kurt!" Samantha yelled, reaching for him.

She grabbed his hand and pulled, raising him a few inches out of the shadow. The shadow reacted, though, churning wildly and then raising up, sucking both of them down into it. The shadow twitched for a moment, then calmed, returning to normal. The thing stepped out of another shadow as the sound of the rest of the mansion came back into the room, filling it with loud animal calls and the sounds of people turning from irritated to concerned. It smiled, showing off rows of fanged teeth. "Six down."

**TBC……..**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: **Short chapter, because writer's block is evil. But I warned you guys it might suck, so you can't yell at me. At least it's up, okay? I miss you guys! I need you here to give me inspiration. It's very sad. And Abby! I love you! Good luck! Oh! And last chapter I think I said it was Monday night...Sorry about that. It was actually still Sunday night, same day as the laser tag and such. I knew I'd mess up my days eventually! Gah!

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

Sleepy, sleepy. That's what Cassandra was as she headed back to her room from the bathroom. She wished it was Saturday night so she wouldn't have to wake up early the next morning but, unfortunately, it was stupid Sunday night. Well, technically, stupid Monday morning. Which meant she had class and, unlike regular college, she couldn't just skip it. It was hard to skip class when you lived in the same place as the teachers. Even worse, when one of them happened to be the world's greatest telepath and would know if you were faking sick.

Unfortunately, her stupid body wasn't tired at all. It refused to let her fall asleep, regardless of how dead her brain was. Despite not being able to sleep, though, Cassandra was more or less happy. It had been a great day, with laser tag, lunch with Logan, and then more making out. That was quickly becoming a daily thing with them. And Cassandra didn't at all mind. She did feel a little guilty keeping the secret from her friends, though. And eventually they were going to catch on. She was pretty sure that Samantha was already figuring out something. Samantha kept giving her irritating, knowing looks.

She was still in the hallway outside of the bathroom when every animal in the vicinity started freaking out. Cassandra barely had time to wonder what the hell was up with them before she started sinking, as if the floor below her had turned into quicksand. Cassandra glanced downwards and saw a swirling black shadow, into which her feet had disappeared. She let out a startled shriek and struggled to get out, looking wildly around for anything she could grab a hold of.

Logan, who had already been woken up by the screaming animals, heard her scream and bolted out of his room. Cassandra was sinking fast, already up to her chest in the shadow.

"Logan!" She yelled, spotting him.

He didn't even think, he just ran towards her, reaching out to grab her hand. Before he could get to her, though, she was gone. Furious, Logan slashed at the shadow with his claws. Something inside there shrieked and for a moment he feared that he had gotten Cassandra, but just as quickly he realized it wasn't her scream. The shadow slunk along the floor, moving into the shadows by the wall and disappearing. Logan clawed the wall, trying to get after it, but when it got him no where he stopped.

No. He refused to believe that she was gone. She had to be here, had to be somewhere, all he had to do was find her. This couldn't happen again. No one was invading his territory and taking away his family. That thought, and the cries of some of the students, turned his thoughts towards the others still there. Instantly, Logan was on the move, grabbing the other X-men to search out this thing. He threw open the first door he came to, Kurt's, and felt a surge of panic when he realized that he wasn't in there.

Logan shook his head. Cass, Kurt….Rogue. Sam. Logan raced down the hall and tossed open Samantha's door. She wasn't there. He moved downwards, barging into Rogue's room. Nothing. Letting out a snarl, he shouted, "X-men, get your asses up! We're under attack again!"

Without waiting for an answer, Logan moved towards the stairs. He could hear it down there, and hell if he wasn't going to find it and rip it to shreds.

* * *

Zephyr had rather thought that it would be uncomfortable to sleep in the same bed as Warren, since his wings would most likely take up a lot of space. But Warren had years of practice sleeping with his wings, and he knew how to tuck them in so that they weren't falling off the bed. Even with her curled up at his left side, her head pillowed on his chest, the wings didn't bother either of them. His left wing was partly under her, and he had folded it so that it was cradling her under the blankets. The down on the feathers made it warm, so much that she only needed the simple quilt on her bed to stay warm even through the cold night.

His feathers were soft and comforting, almost as much as listening to the rise and fall of his chest was. Zephyr could hear his heartbeat under her ear and her eyes closed as she matched her breathing to his. In his sleep, Warren's hand reached for hers, their fingers intertwining. Zephyr snuggled closer to him, feeling a peace that she had never quite known before.

Unfortunately, that peace was ruined when some bird outside of Zephyr's window started cawing like crazy and pecking at the glass. Zephyr groaned and stirred, reaching over to the other side of her bed. For a moment, she expected to find Warren there, but then she realized she had been dreaming. _And a really good dream, too,_ Zephyr thought with irritation. She was so going to kill Samantha for waking her up from that.

Then more birds added their voices, and other wildlife joined in the frantic calls. Zephyr's irritation faded, turning to concern. She had never heard the animals sound like that. Something must be terribly wrong. For a moment, Zephyr felt a brief twinge of fear. She didn't want another attack on the mansion, not so soon. Not now that she might be…Might have….

She shook her head, forcing away the thoughts and threw off her blankets. She was moving towards her dresser to find some clothes when she heard Logan yelling. Now she knew something was wrong. Bypassing the clothes, Zephyr lurched for her door, throwing it open and skidding out into the hall.

"What is it?" Zephyr demanded when she saw Logan and Scott in the hallway.

"It's downstairs." Logan replied, looking like he was itching to get moving. "It already got Cass."

"We don't know who else." Scott said. "Sam's either fighting and sounded the alarm, or she's been taken and the animals are reacting." He paused. "Do you know which one it is?"

Zephyr shook her head. "No. I've never heard them do this before."

"Sitting here talking about it isn't going to do anything." Logan said. "Let's go."

"Logan, we need a pl…" Scott trailed off as Logan turned and started down the stairs.

Zephyr hesitated, wanting to go check on Warren. Fortunately, he came running around the corner, wings clutched tightly around him so they wouldn't get in the way.

"Zeph!" He shouted, looking relieved to see her as he came up beside her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She told him, reaching out to take his hand. "Come on. There's something downstairs."

* * *

Like almost everyone else that night, Rogue was unable to sleep. Maybe it was some sort of subconscious knowledge that something was going to happen that was keeping her up, an uneasy feeling or something. But, then again, maybe not. It was more likely the fact that most of them had a lot on their minds preventing them from sleep. That was definitely Rogue's case.

Early that evening….Rogue was pretty sure she had made a commitment to Gambit. She wasn't entirely sure what that commitment was, but it had been something. Now that she was away from him, and able to think logically, she wasn't sure that was such a good idea. One would think she'd wait at least a month to make the mistake of having feelings for someone again. But, unfortunately, that stupid giddy feeling just wouldn't go away.

Every time she thought of Gambit, her heart beat a little faster and she could definitely feel butterflies in her stomach. She didn't know what it was about him. Honestly, Rogue knew very little about him. But she knew enough to know that he would probably break her heart. What frightened her a little was that she didn't really care right now. She wanted to take a chance, wanted to be spontaneous and just not worry about the consequences of her actions. Gambit seemed to do a pretty good job with that.

Rogue shook her head. She had left her room in order to not think about Gambit. Earlier that night, she had run into Samantha, who had invited her to a _Pirates of the Caribbean _marathon. At the time, Rogue had declined, but now it was sounding like a really good idea. Nothing like staring at a drunken Johnny Depp to take her mind off of, well, anything.

She was heading to the rec room when the noise started. Rogue paused, frowning. Damn, Samantha must be having one hell of a nightmare. Rogue continued to the rec room, quickening her pace. When she arrived and found it empty, though, with the second _Pirates _movie still playing, Rogue grew worried. She backtracked, starting towards the stairs.

Before she could reach them, though, someone called her name. Rogue turned around to see Ali heading towards her. The young girl's light green eyes were wide and worry was obvious on her face.

"Rogue, what's going on?" Ali asked, stopping next to her.

"I don't know." Rogue admitted. "Something's spooked the animals. Come on, honey, we'll go get the others."

They hadn't made it very far when one of the shadows by them began churning, and a dark figure emerged from it. Fast as lightning, it was next to them. Rogue pulled off her glove and reached out to grab it, but just as quick as it had come over it was gone, over on another side of the room.

"Stay behind me, sugar." Rogue told Ali.

The shadow figure fidgeted, staring at them as if trying to decide how it could get close to Rogue without letting her touch it. Rogue stared back as she slowly inched towards the stairs, pulling Ali behind her. The thing zipped over to the stairs, cutting off their path, and Rogue stopped. For a few moments, nothing happened, then Ali darted off to one side.

"Hey, creepy thing!" Ali yelled. "Over here, come get me!"

"Ali!" Rogue called. "Get back here!"

Ali ignored her and motioned her to go up the stairs as she yelled again. The figure glanced over at Ali, then turned and charged for Rogue. She whirled, gloveless hand reached out to try and grab it as it ran by, but it was too fast. Beforeany of them could react,six more figures sprang out of the shadows.For a moment, they surrounded Rogue, but thenfive of them ran into another one and disappeared.

"It's time to go." The remaining one said.

The fast figure nodded. "We're done."

They sunk back into the shadows just as Logan, Scott, Zephyr, and Warren came charging down the stairs.

"Rogue! Are you two all right?" Scott asked.

Logan gave her a brief look-over, then asked, "Where is it?"

"We're fine." Rogue said. "And they're gone."

"They?" Zephyr repeated.

Rogue nodded. "There was more than one."

"There were five." Xavier said as the elevator doors clanged open and he wheeled out. "And yes, they were gone now."

"But we saw seven." Ali protested. "Well, five of them went poof. But there were still seven! I didn't do that badly in math!"

Xavier's lips twitched briefly in what might have been an amused smile before he sobered. "The students are all safe in their beds. Ali, you should probably join them."

"Oh, okay. Fine. Be that way. No one tell the kid anything." Ali grumbled, but she headed up the stairs anyway.

"There will be rumors of anywhere from seven to seven hundred by tomorrow." Scott commented.

"What were they, Professor?" Warren asked.

"Mutants." Xavier replied. He paused. "I think we should continue this discussion in the teacher's lounge."

They followed him there, where Piotr, Ororo, and Hank were already waiting.

"Professor, what is it? What's happened?" Ororo asked. "Are the students all right?"

"The students are fine, Ororo." Xavier told her. "There was an attack on the mansion."

Hank shook his head. "So soon after the last one? Charles, we might want to think about increasing our security."

"Is everyone okay, Professor?" Piotr asked. "What did they want?"

"I don't know what they wanted. I could feel their presences, but I couldn't get inside their minds. It was as if something was keeping me out." Xavier said.

"Us." Rogue replied. "They wanted us. Ali tried to draw attention to herself, but it ignored her and went straight for me."

"Magneto?" Logan asked, remembering the last time someone had wanted Rogue.

"It's a possibility." Xavier admitted. "But as far as I know, Erik doesn't have a telepath powerful enough to place shields that can block me out. And what I sensed tonight was different than Erik's helmet."

"I didn't think a telepath powerful enough to block you out existed." Hank said. Though he didn't add 'anymore,' it still weighed heavy in the air.

"Were they after all of the X-men, or just Rogue?" Scott asked.

"I believe they may have been after all of us." Xavier said.

"How many of us did they get?" Zephyr asked quietly.

All eyes turned to her, then to Xavier for the answer.

Xavier closed his eyes. "Everyone who's not here."

The reaction was immediate. Exclamations, denials, worry, and ideas filled the room at a volume too high to really make out any of the words. Only Logan was quiet, as he got up and made his way to the door.

"Logan, where are you going?" Ororo asked, catching him.

"To find them. I can track them better than anyone." Logan said.

"Logan." Xavier said quietly. "I can't sense any of them."

Everyone fell quiet.

"That doesn't mean anything." Logan said. "Magneto has some place shielded from you, so that you can't sense any of his gang. They're probably there."

"I'm going with you." Rogue told him, standing up.

"Me too." Zephyr said.

"And me." Piotr added.

Logan seemed ready to refuse, but he took a long look at their faces and sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

"This is stupid." Scott said. "Professor—"

"Logan, charging in without a plan will only make things worse." Xavier told him. _You can't help them this way. You can't help her. _

Logan stared sharply at Xavier. _Stop looking through my head. _

_I didn't. It's right there, shouting at me. _Xavier replied.

_I have to do something, Chuck. I can't just sit here. _Logan said.

Xavier paused. "Very well. But if you find something, please contact us before you do anything. In the mean time, the rest of us will attempt to come up with a plan."

* * *

Charm was cold. In fact, it was the cold that woke her up, although she didn't realize it until she had been pulled out of a deep sleep only to start shivering. Oddly enough, though, her hand, the lower part of her forearm, and her right leg were perfectly warm. It took Charm only a moment to notice that she wasn't in her room, or her bed. She was in Pyro's, something she had seen often enough but had never slept in. He was sleeping on the other side of the bed, lying flat on his back. She was on her back as well, but her arm and the back of his hand were tossed over him, resting on his stomach. His leg had hooked over hers as well.

That must be the source of the warmth. Charm had already noticed that his skin was hotter than a normal person's, but it had never occurred to her that it could provide warmth. She pulled her hand away, ignoring the protests of her suddenly cold skin. She must have been really tired, and really drunk, to fall asleep in here after training. Charm never did that. Never. Not once had she ever fallen asleep in the bed of whoever she had just had sex with. Maybe she was pushing herself too hard in training.

Charm started to untangle her leg from his when she stopped. She wasn't looking forward to the cold walk back to her room. And it would be kind of stupid to do that, since even when she got there, she wouldn't have anything that could keep her as warm as Pyro could. It was the cold that was keeping her there, Charm decided as she settled back down, letting her body rest ever so slightly against his. It wasn't because she liked sleeping with him. It was only the cold.

* * *

That was both easier and more difficult than he had thought. Getting in had proved much simpler. Maybe he should have kept that one around. But it was better this way, in the long run. He could easily get her again, when he finally decided to make his move for the one that should be his. And before one of them had sounded the alarm, everything was going perfectly.

But those mutants were good. Once they were rallied, it was hard to defeat them. Even with the little he knew about them, he knew that they would cause a problem. If anything went wrong, it would be because of them. So he had to study them. Learn everything about them, so he could anticipate their every move.

For now, though, all he had to do was wait.


	16. Real chapter! Better?

**Author's Note: **You guys know you love me! I was watching Fantasia while writing last night, and the part with the little mushrooms dancing came on….So I started singing mushroom mushroom mushroom to the tune of the song. And then the fish part came on next, so, um, yeah. That's where that came from. But here's the real chapter! No killie! And ewww. I just realized how short this is. Sorry guys!

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen **

When He had first come to Aleric, had first extended the invitation to join Him, there had been no one else on His side. Aleric didn't mind being the only one there. When some of the possibilities that had been rejected chose to stay on, Aleric didn't mind that either. He wasn't jealous that he was no longer the only one fighting with Him. Besides, at that point, Aleric hadn't been entirely convinced of His way. Aleric was only there because He had helped him control his power.

It had been a miracle, that Aleric could now use his power on other people whenever he wanted. Oh, if only she was here to see him now. She would be so proud of him, her Aleric. It didn't occur to him, with his mind addled by her death and His influence, that she would be horrified to see what he was doing. Who he was doing it with. But Aleric was part of something now. He could feel it, somewhere inside that was close to where he loved her. But it never touched where he loved her. Nothing could touch that.

There was still that small, tugging feeling, though, the one that told him that he was still incomplete. They hadn't found the others. They had a good number of followers, now, but they still didn't have the others. Aleric knew they were close, though, because He had told him that He knew where they were. All they had to do was go and get them. Aleric wanted to do it know, but He said to wait. Aleric understood. They needed to be convinced. Not everyone understood His way so quickly.

Aleric turned down the hall, running his fingers along the smooth dirt walls as he did so. He came to a room with an open door, in which a young man was packing a suitcase.

"Nathan." Aleric said in greeting. He had a name, another name, but it didn't matter. The little names these people picked for themselves meant nothing. It was just another way to gain their attention, and the one Nathan had come here with served just fine.

The young man looked up and gave a small smile. "Aleric. Did you need something?"

Aleric shook his head. "No. Just came to see you off. You won't be able to come back here again until it's done."

"I know." Nathan replied, gesturing to his suitcase. "Forgot a few things before. Hopefully I won't this time."

"Did you remember your game system?" Aleric asked with a smile. It was doubtful Nathan had forgotten them. He lived for that thing. But, still, asking showed that Aleric knew that. And that helped establish a bond.

"Of course." Nathan replied.

"Good. Here." Aleric held out a video game, one he had picked up while out working yesterday. "I don't think you have this one."

"I don't." Nathan said, taking it and looking it over. "Thanks."

"Be careful." Aleric told him. "Come back to us safe."

Nathan nodded and closed his suitcase, latching it shut. "I will. Later, Aleric."

Aleric tilted his head in acknowledgement as Nathan left them room, vanishing down the hallway. Aleric turned and walked back the way he had come, a small smile on his face.

* * *

The sun rose on Monday morning, but Tenebra didn't rise with it. In fact, she didn't wake up until a few hours after it had long since been hanging in the sky, which was rather disturbing. Tenebra would have contributed to the time zone change if it weren't for the fact that her assignments had taken her all over the world, and she had never had problems before. So she decided it was do to the training she had done with Magneto and the three other people he had recruited onto his little team the night before.

That thought pleased her. If the training was hard enough that she was tired from it, then signing on with Magneto was proving worth her while. It had been a long time since she had taken on something for free. Of course, she wasn't really working for nothing. She would be getting free room and board, as well as whatever money she needed. And she was still free to take whatever contracts she pleased. Tenebra had never worked for anyone anti-mutant, so that was no problem. In fact, she almost exclusively took contracts that were on humans. She hated the damn things. That was probably why Magneto had come to her in the first place.

She sat up and stretched, then winced as a shot of pain swept through her back. She padded over to the mirror in her hotel room and turned around, pulling off her shirt to look at her bare back. There were three cuts on her back, in perfect alignment with each other. They looked like claw marks, and they were pretty deep. Not enough to require stitches, but they still hurt like hell.

Tenebra frowned. It wasn't the pain that bothered her; after nine years of being an assassin she was rather immune to pain. It was the fact that she couldn't remember getting those scratches the night before. Tenebra shook her head. She was getting sloppy, if she couldn't remember an injury she had received. Again it occurred to her that joining Mangeto's little team was going to be more beneficial than she had thought.

A knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts.

"Tenebra?" The knocker called. "It's Mouse. Want to go grab some breakfast?"

Because Tenebra was alone, she allowed herself a sigh. She didn't like showing her emotions in front of the others. She didn't know why the damn girl couldn't go eat with one of the boys. Mouse had flirted with them the entire trip, so Tenebra figured she should jump at the chance to do it some more. Fortunately, Mouse hadn't made good on any of her flirtatious comments. Mouse had the room next to Tenebra, so the assassin would have been able to hear anything going on in there. Tenebra was rather grateful for that. Just watching the flirting was too much for her.

Tenebra did need to eat, though, and Magneto kept telling them how important it was for them to work as a team. Personally, Tenebra thought she did just fine on her own, but she had to admit Mouse, Madrox, Quicksilver, Psych, and Monster had come in handy during their little "practice" battles. So Tenebra gave another sigh and threw on some clothes, then pulled open the door, informing the waiting girl, "All right. Let's go."

* * *

Hank closed his eyes as he ended the conversation and hung up the phone. He was running out of contacts in the government that he trusted enough to tell him the truth. Unsurprisingly, there were very few of his political colleagues that had earned his trust. And he doubted very seriously that any of them knew anything about the attacks on the Institute. If any of them had heard something, they would have called him long before now. Still, it didn't hurt to ask them to do a little digging. Some of them had access to information that he didn't.

Despite his efforts, though, Hank didn't think anything would come of this. This didn't seem like a government operation. Of course, there was always the chance that it was an off-shoot of the government, or an ex-politician or military man like Stryker. Still, it just didn't seem political. It was professional, yes, but Hank had enough experience with politicians to know what their work looked like.

But he was still going to call everyone he could. It was something to do, at least, something more or less helpful that he could concentrate on. Professor Xavier was in Cerebro, searching endlessly for some sign of either their captured comrades or the mutants who had taken them. Scott was downstairs with Forge, a mutant associate of Xavier's who had designed the original security system. He was upgrading it as only he could, since Forge's mutant ability made him the best in all things technological. Ororo was in the Danger Room, running through the most complex rescue scenarios they had. Warren had taken to the skies, doing an aerial search, but he had come back after an hour or so and joined Ororo. Warren had told them that Logan had a better chance of finding them than he did, but he could make sure he was ready when the time came to get them back.

Hank picked up the phone and was about to dial another number when Xavier's voice sounded in his head.

_I've located the mutants that attacked us last night. _Xavier said.

Hank paused. _Where are they? Do we leave now?_

_No. _Xavier replied. _They know nothing of the attack. They can't even remember doing it, much less where they left the people they captured. Someone has wiped their memories clean. _

_Can you get them back? _Hank asked.

_Yes. _Xavier replied. _Whoever did this was powerful, but I can find those memories. It will just take a little time. I will let you know when I have made any progress. _

Hank nodded, then heaved a sigh. He was worried. He liked the newest recruits to them team, and he had gotten rather close to Anorra in the time that she had been here. He didn't want anything to happen to them. He didn't really know what he'd do if something did, or if he met the person who had done this. Hank prided himself on being cultured, but there was a darkness inside of him. He knew that all too well. And he also knew that sometimes, for some reasons, he enjoyed releasing it. He rather though this might be one of them.

He stared at the phone for a moment, then picked it up and resumed dialing.

* * *

Samantha had no idea what time it was when she finally woke up. That realization concerned her a bit, because she had always had some vague knowledge of the time of day. Her animal instincts had her tuned into the sun's path enough to know at least whether it was morning or night. But right now, Samantha had no clue. It then occurred to her that the ground she was laying on was hard, too hard to be her bed at the Institute. Too hard even to be the ground she usually slept on during over-night trail rides at the ranch. It was cold, she could feel that on her bare limbs, and felt more like rock.

Confused, Samantha struggled to shake off the last dregs of sleepiness and forced her eyes open. Sure enough, she was laying on solid rock, as if she was inside of a cave or something. She flicked her gaze to the side, looking for cave walls. Instead, though, she spotted the unmistakable iron bars of a cage a few feet away from her. Her eyes opened wide now, panic seeping into them and making them wild. She was in a cage. She bolted up, taking fast, deep breaths as she began hyperventilating. Samantha didn't notice that, though.

In fact, she didn't notice anything except the fact that She. Was. Caged. Samantha released the shields that kept her human. She didn't know what she would turn into, because it wasn't something she did consciously. It didn't matter, though, because nothing happened. Samantha didn't seem to realize this, as she lunged for the nearest wall of the cage, hands formed into claws and teeth bared as if they were fangs.

She got maybe two inches before strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her back from the iron bars. Samantha hissed and struggled in them, turning herself around to face her attacker. She found yellow-gold eyes and froze, her own eyes locked onto them. Her attacker was making some noise, saying something. It was German, but it wouldn't have matter if it was English. Samantha was too far gone to understand any of it.

His voice provided her with something to lock onto, though, as she forced herself to calm down. It took awhile, but finally Samantha had enough control over herself that she would no longer attempt to attack the cage walls. She had this strange, hollow feeling that she couldn't explain…But there was something she was more worried about at the moment.

"Kurt." Samantha said. "Are you all right?'

Kurt smiled slightly. "I should be asking you that."

"I'm fine." She said, sliding out of his grasp and putting her feet back on the floor. "Sorry."

"You didn't want to be doing that, petite." Gambit commented. "Not a pretty sight."

"Gambit?" Samantha asked, stepping away from Kurt to look around.

She and Kurt were in a small, ten by ten cell. The walls were made of iron bars, but the floor and ceiling were solid rock, giving Samantha the impression that they were under ground. To the right of their cell was another, identical one. Both cells used the same wall, so that Samantha could have reached her hand through the bars and into the other cell. Cassandra lay unconscious in this cell, curled up near the middle.

To the left of Kurt and Samantha's cell was another one, also sharing the wall. Rachel and Anorra were in this one, both out as well. Another cell was built at the head of their two cells, so that this cell shared half a wall with Kurt and Samantha and the other half with Rachel and Anorra. Gambit and Bobby occupied this cell, both awake and look disgruntled. Looking around, Samantha could see numerous other empty cells that formed a pyramid-like shape. There was one empty cell at the head, then under that was another empty cell next to Gambit and Bobby's, followed by the three cells occupied by Cassandra, Kurt, Samantha, Rachel, and Anorra. There were four after that, then five. Beyond that, Samantha didn't know, as she could only see as far as the five.

Samantha started to ask what happened, but then she remembered the attack on the Institute and winced. "Gambit? Bobby? You guys okay?"

"Peachy." Bobby muttered. "Nothing like being turned down and then getting captured to brighten your day."

"Bobby's having women trouble." Gambit said conversationally. "Gambit's guessing his day hasn't improved much."

"Oh." Samantha said. "Rachel's stupid. Want me to talk to her?"

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "No, that's okay. I think we have more important things to worry about than my love life."

"Good point." Samantha admitted. "Anyone know what time it is?"

Kurt shook his head. "No. None of us have watches."

"Oh." Samantha said, then blinked. "Wait a minute. Can't you 'port us out?"

"I wish." Kurt said. "My teleportation is not working. None of our powers are working."

Suddenly, Samantha realized what that empty feeling was. She couldn't hear any thoughts in her head, nor sense any animals near her. "Oh, _God_." She murmured. She felt so alone. So very, very alone.

Her hand reached out and grabbed Kurt's. He looked at her in confusion, then concern as tears filled her eyes.

"Kurt." Samantha said. "Kurt, there's no one _here_."

"Of course there is, Sam. We're…" Kurt trailed off as his eyes lit in understanding. "Oh. Are you…"

"It's so lonely." Samantha said. "How do you guys stand this?"

She stepped closer to Kurt, maintaining as much physical contact with him as possible. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind. His tail even wrapped itself around her calf, giving it a soft, reassuring squeeze.

"We thought it was only blocking active powers, since Kurt and Anorra are still themselves." Bobby said. "But it probably blocks telepathy, too. Makes sense, since whoever's behind this probably doesn't want Professor Xavier finding us."

"Or it considers Sam's little animal mind thing an active power." Gambit said. "Or both."

"Well, if the Professor cannot find us, then he will look for the ones who attacked us." Kurt said. "We will not be here long. We are X-men. X-men do not leave anyone behind."

"Yeah." Bobby said. "I learned that a year ago." Except…Except sometimes they did. Bobby had learned that a year ago, too, when he left behind his best friend.

There was a long silence after that, until Samantha commented, "You know, my mom always told me you're not a rider until you've fallen off the horse. Maybe it's the same way with X-men. Like, you're not an X-men until you've been captured or had to rescue someone."

"Guess we just joined the ranks, then, huh petite?" Gambit asked with a lopsided grin. "Whoopee."

* * *

Zephyr was exhausted, both physically and mentally. She had been out searching with Logan, Rogue, and Piotr since before the sun had come up, and now it was almost down. And they still had nothing, which didn't exactly improve her mental state. She couldn't understand why she was left behind. Her best friends, the guy who had started to feel almost like a brother, another who was rapidly becoming another close friend, and one who she hadn't interacted with much but would like to get to know better….Zephyr had to close her eyes, then, to keep the tears that threatened to spill at bay.

She rested her head against the cool metal of the jeep for a moment. It was an open top, which was probably why Logan had selected it for their transportation. Most likely, he would have preferred to take his motorcycle, or just go on foot, but with the three of them there as well, the jeep was more practical. When Zephyr had herself under control again, she cast her gaze about the interior of the jeep.

Logan was driving, his gaze steady on the road. Zephyr knew that his heightened senses were probably in over drive, though, looking for any trace of their missing friends. Rogue was in the passenger seat, and every now and then Logan glanced over at her, as if checking to make sure she was still there. Rogue didn't seem to notice, though, since she was staring out the window, gaze not focused on anything in particular. Zephyr resisted the urge to reach out and somehow comfort her. This wasn't really a time for that kind of thing.

Instead, Zephyr turned her silvery blue gaze to Piotr in the seat next to her. The young Russian man was sitting as straight as possible, most likely from tension. His eyes darted back and forth across the road, as if he would be able to pick out some sign of their friends if only he looked hard enough. He must have felt her gaze, though, as he moved his eyes from the street to rest on her face.

"They're okay." Zephyr said, realizing as soon as the words came out that they were sort of lame. It had been her first response, though, and she did mean it.

Fortunately, Piotr didn't seem to think her words were hollow reassurance. He nodded, giving a tight-lipped smile. "Da. They are X-men."

Zephyr's reply was cut off by a vibration coming from her pocket.

Rogue snapped back into reality as Zephyr pulled out her cell phone. "Is it the Professor?"

"No." Zephyr said, looking at the caller ID. "It's Trent. Sam's brother." With a slight frown, she answered, "Hey, Trent. What's up?"

"Hi, Zephyr. Um, is Sam with you?" Trent asked.

Zephyr froze. "Um, no. She's not."

"I knew it." Trent said. "Something's wrong, isn't it? Arabus started freaking out early this morning, and he just took off somewhere. What happened?"

"What does he want?" Logan asked.

"He wants to know what happened to Sam." Zephyr said, covering her cell with her hand. "He says Sam's pet wolf has been freaking out. Probably since she disappeared."

"How well do you know this guy?" Logan asked. "How's he gonna take the truth?"

"Okay. He came up to visit Sam a couple of times, and I stayed some holidays at the ranch." Zephyr paused. "Probably not too well."

"Tell him we're getting her back, then." Logan said.

Zephyr nodded. "Trent? We just had a little trouble with some other mutants. We're going to get Sam right now, no worries."

"Oh." Trent said, then asked, "You want me to come out there? I can come out there."

"No, it's okay." Zephyr told him. "She'll be back before you can get here."

"Okay." Trent said, but he didn't sound too convinced. "Have her call me, okay?"

"I will. Later." Zephyr said, then hung up. "Okay, I didn't lie to him. I didn't."

No one answered her, though, so Zephyr just turned her attention back to the road. And started wishing that Warren had come with them. She really wanted someone to hold right now.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: **Whoot! Chapter finally up! Yays! Sorry for the wait. I got a job, though, so the next wait might be longer. Sorrrry! I love you guys!

**Chapter Seventeen**

The floor was too damn hard. It did not make for a very good resting place. That was the first thing that occurred to Cassandra as her mind slowly pulled itself into the land of waking. She had probably passed out again. It happened, every once in awhile, when her mind finally refused to stay awake any longer despite her body's insistence that it wasn't tired. It must have happened on the way back from the bathroom.

And then everything came rushing back to her and she winced. There had been another attack on the mansion. And the fact that she was currently unconscious on the ground instead of in the medical facility didn't exactly bode well. Cassandra shifted her weight and pushed herself off of the ground, blinking rapidly to clear her blurry vision. She tossed her gaze around and realized she was in a cage. Alone.

"Cass?" Samantha asked, causing Cassandra to turn around. "You okay?"

"Fine. For, you know, apparently being kidnapped or whatever." Cassandra commented, giving another look around to see who was there. Samantha and Kurt were in a cage together, as were Bobby and Gambit. Cassandra could see Anorra and Rachel as well, but both of them were still unconscious. Cassandra moved towards the wall she shared with Samantha, asking, "How long have I been out?"

"I dunno." Samantha replied. "I've got no sense of time in here."

"And, unfortunately, no one has a working watch." Bobby said.

Cassandra glanced down at her own wrist, then sighed. "Took mine off to sleep. So what's the situation? Can we get out?"

"Doesn't seem likely, not on our own." Kurt said. "The cages block our powers. I cannot teleport, and Samantha can't contact any animals to get help."

"And there's some kind of energy around the bars." Bobby said. "You try to hit one and it just pushes you back."

"Makes it so you can stick a hand through the bars, either." Gambit told her. "Otherwise Gambit would have picked the locks and we'd be long gone."

"So, basically, we're screwed." Cassandra summed up. "Great. Fun."

"Not screwed." Samantha protested. "We do have other teammates looking for us, remember?"

"Right." Cassandra said. "Kay." Then she realized Logan was still out there and relaxed a bit. If anyone could get them out of here, it was him. "So what do we do, just wait?"

"Unless you've got a better idea on how to pass the time, petite?" Gambit asked.

Cassandra considered, then frowned at Samantha. "Why are you wearing Kurt's coat?"

"Because it's cold." Samantha replied. "And I'm wearing boxers and a tanktop under here, so shut up."

Kurt blinked slightly. "I didn't see anything wrong with lending it to her."

"Oh, no. Fuel her obsession." Cassandra muttered.

"Hey! I do not have an obsession." Samantha protested.

Kurt blinked again, then gave a slightly amused smile. "You have an obsession with coats?"

"Only yours, I'm thinking, mon ami." Gambit commented.

Cassandra just beamed at Samantha. She could have made a bigger deal about the fact that Samantha was currently leaning against Kurt, and Kurt's tail was wrapped around her waist, but Cassandra decided not to. Because, honestly, she was a bit jealous. Waking up stuck in a cage was not the most fun thing ever, and it really made her want snuggles. Especially Logan snuggles.

"You know, you two are lucky I love you." Samantha grumbled.

"And that we're in separate cages, so you can't get to us?" Cassandra teased.

Samantha stuck her tongue out at her.

The room fell silent, then. Occasionally, people made comments or tried to keep up a light-hearted conversation, but it always died eventually, returning the room to silence. Finally, Anorra began to stir.

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There had been a fight. Someone, something had attacked them. No amount of drugs in Anorra's system could make her forget that. So when she woke, she woke ready. Ready to fight, to drive away the person who dared try to take her on. There was hard stone beneath her, but she didn't feel it. She pushed herself up and off of the ground, instantly crouching into a defensive position. Her hands came up in front of her as she willed them into talons, shifting her body into its half-dragon form. Anorra didn't notice that nothing happened.

Her eyes swept out in front of her. Whatever had knocked her out was still in her system, blurring her vision slightly. But she could see enough, she could see what was in front of her. No one. There was no one there. They had to be hiding. She turned slowly, her eyes scanning and her ears _listening_ and….no one. There, soft breathing. Voices, dim, but there. She whirled again, turning to face the voices, but instead she saw a wall of iron bars.

A cage. Anorra snarled, then paused. Her voice sounded different. More human than it should. Didn't matter. Nothing mattered, nothing except getting out of there. Getting out of the cage. There, the door. It was only iron. She could break it. Anorra concentrated again, willing her form to melt into her larger, safer dragon form. Once again, she didn't realize she hadn't changed. She lunged.

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"Anorra!" Cassandra shouted, trying to snap some sense into the girl.

"This ain't gonna be pretty." Gambit muttered as Anorra lunged for the door.

The scaled mutant hit the door with hands-outstretched, obviously trying to break it down. Unfortunately, the energy field on the bars snapped into action. Anorra smacked into the invisible wall and was tossed a few feet backward. The place she had hit shimmered pink and green for a moment, then faded into invisibility once more. Anorra stood up, shook her head, then lunged again with the same results.

"Yay for instincts." Samantha muttered, sending a brief glance at Kurt. "Have I thanked you enough for grabbing me so I couldn't do that?"

Kurt gave her a small smile. Cassandra yelled Anorra's name after the second lunge, and this time it seemed to register.

"Cass?" Anorra asked, shaking her head again. "Ow. Serious ringing in my ears."

"Yeah, that's what happens when you attack invisible barriers." Bobby commented.

Anorra snarled at him and he blinked.

"Thinking Anorra's not in the mood to be teased, mon ami." Gambit told Bobby.

Anorra shifted her weight, rolling her shoulders experimentally. Then, she frowned. "Why am I still human?"

"Power blockers." Kurt replied. "None of us can use our powers."

Anorra growled and paced the cage for a moment. Then she stopped and asked, "What's the plan?"

"Plan?" Cassandra repeated.

"For getting out of here." Anorra said.

"Um. Wait to get rescued?" Cassandra offered.

"You know, when you say it like that, we have a really crappy plan." Samantha commented.

"You think?" Anorra asked. "You five have been awake for how long and you've still got nothing?"

"If you have any ideas, petite, we'd love to hear them." Gambit said. "We can't use our powers, we can't pick the locks, we can't dig through solid ground, we don't have phones or telepathy to call for help, and there's no guards to sweet talk into releasing us."

"Wow." Bobby said. "We really are screwed."

"Nu-uh." Cassandra countered. "Logan's looking for us."

Kurt nodded. "Logan and the other X-men won't give up. We'll just have to be on guard for an opportunity to escape."

Anorra opened her mouth, then closed it. Unfortunately, she didn't have any ideas on how to get out, either. What she needed was a person with a good head on their shoulders, who she could bounce ideas off of. Who wouldn't instantly resort to 'wait to be rescued' as a plan. She gave a frustrated sigh and started pacing again. The others were talking still, but they weren't saying anything important so she didn't pay attention. She had to figure a way out of here.

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Toad wasn't entirely sure why he kept at this. He knew her type, he did. The serious ones, never allowing anything to distract her from her business. So focused on working, training, controlling her powers that she never realized there was more to life than being the perfect warrior. Perfect businessman. Or woman, in this case. If the time ever came that the Brotherhood had to shape up and get real jobs, Toad had little doubt that Backlash would be just as successful there. She wasn't like Aphedria, didn't kill out of hatred. Backlash killed because it needed to be done.

And there was little difference in killing someone in the literal sense and killing them in a business merger or in some courtroom where a man's life depended on how far his lawyer was willing to go. Backlash could wipe the floor with them, she could. Toad couldn't help but admire her. She was strong, she was beautiful, and she was sure as hell deadly.

But Goddamn did her hate her type. He hated everything about it. Charm was more his type. That girl knew how to have a good time. Sure as hell knew how to give a good time, too, judging by the sounds that came from the fire boy's room most nights. Toad was pretty damn sure that, if he expressed an interested, he could have her for at least a night or two. Even if she did seem to be pretty wrapped up in the boy.

But Toad knew Charm's type, too. The wild girls, the ones that flirted, toyed, and sexed up men until they were too blind by their dicks to realize that she was deadly, too. Toad sometimes wondered if the boy knew that. He also wondered if the girl knew what Pyro was capable of. Despite his comments, Toad knew that boy was something else. Pyro wasn't one of Magneto's most trusted lieutenants for nothing. The only other ones with that honor were Mystique, Sabertooth, and Toad himself. Although Backlash was pretty damn close to becoming one of them.

There went Toad's train of thought again. It did that, even though he never really wanted it to. Somehow it always seemed to wind its back to Backlash. He wasn't even sure how it got there sometimes. It was almost like he had a separate train of thought just for Backlash, and every few minutes it rolled on by, forcing him to get off his current train and board that one.

She was even making him come up with stupid metaphors about trains. Damn he needed to get her out of there. Pyro had told him that he should have sex with her and get it over with. Yeah, sure, that was easy for the boy to say. He had a hot little girl that was bugging him to have sex. With Toad, well, the situations were reversed. Although, quite obviously, Pyro hadn't put up near as much of a struggle as Backlash was.

It was damn near just as obvious that Backlash didn't fancy Toad hanging around her. Didn't want anything to do with him, she didn't. He was pretty sure that that was one of the main reasons he was still bugging her. Nothing more desirable than something one couldn't have. That, and damn. There was just something about her. Hell if Toad knew what it was, but it was something.

She was relenting, too. Three times this week she had sought him out. Twice it had been for training, sure, but that other time she had just found him in the kitchen. Sat down at the table nice as you please and ate a sandwich. They didn't say anything, no, but she was there. And then as she was leaving Toad had hit on her and she had lashed her whip at him. He had gotten damn good at dodging that thing. They were training together, now. Always fighting against each other, but Magneto was coming back today. Erik would back him up on the teamwork advantage.

It's what the X-men had. They worked together like nothing else. Erik – Magneto had said that was why they lost last time. And the time before that. Magneto was right. Toad knew full well the advantages that came from working with other people. Couldn't pull off a big heist all by yourself, after all. Just had to choose your teammates carefully. Never knew who was okay and who was out to stab you in the back.

Toad had had a lot of those in his life. He didn't need any more people looking down on him, treating him like nothing. And he didn't get that any more. Not since Erik. Magneto was good people. He fought for something real, something that Toad didn't even really believe in until he signed up here. But fighting for mutants, for all of the freaks like Toad who had nothing else, yeah, that was good work. And if Toad got to steal some crap and beat up on the X-geeks, the goody-goodies who were too afraid to get their hands a little dirty in the name of mutantkind, well, more the better.

And he wasn't the only one that felt that way. He and Charm had gone out on a trip the other day. Stole a car, little joyride, fun as hell. She was of the same mind that he was. She was good company, the girl, had a little sister quality that he knew he must be going crazy to see. Cause damn was that girl hot. She showed it, too, with those little outfits she wore. Maybe she could talk Backlash into wearing one.

And, hell, there she was again. Toad needed a drink. But Magneto was coming back today, so no drinks for him. By choice, it was, if Magneto had told him not to drink for their meetings Toad've done it just to spite him. But he didn't, so Toad didn't drink. Mind sharper that way.

Well, with no drinking, there was always training. Solitary, the peaceful atmosphere of letting his mind focus only on the movement of his body. Yeah, that was the way to go.

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Tuesday morning, when Pyro woke up, Charm was still asleep. This was the second night that both of them had slept in the same bed. After clubbing Sunday night, they had passed out in his bed. Charm had been gone Monday morning when he woke up, but he knew she had slept there. He remembered the feel of her cool skin against his as they slept. And when he had sat up, wincing at the hangover-induced headache he had, he had noticed a glass of ice water on his nightstand. Two aspirin rested on top of a napkin beside it, and when he picked them up he had noticed 'Thought you could use these' scribbled on the napkin. Under that was a C overlapping a heart.

Neither of them had talked about it yesterday. They had both been busy; Charm off doing whatever it was she did, and Pyro getting ready for Magneto's return. Last night, though, they had ended up in Charm's room doing what they did almost every night. Now, Pyro was glad he was the first one awake this time. It was Charm's room, so really, it was his responsibility to leave.

He slid quietly out of bed, being careful not to disturb her. He found his pants by her desk and pulled them on, then spotted a small notepad. After a moment's consideration, he grabbed a pen and scrolled 'Thanks for the aspirin' on one of the pages. Ripping it out, he placed it on her nightstand, then padded out of the room.

Magneto would be here today. Despite working with the man for over a year now, Pyro couldn't help but feel a small rush at the fact that he would be back. Magneto, he was someone Pyro could respect. Magneto knew what had to be done, and he wasn't afraid to do it. He was the first one to treat Pyro with any sort of respect. Except for maybe the Icebox. But the respect of a friend was nothing compared to the respect of a man as great as Magneto. Here, Pyro was doing things that would actually make a difference, instead of just wasting his time in a school that didn't teach him anything.

Pyro didn't know what time Magneto would be coming back, though, so it meant he had an indeterminate time to do absolutely nothing. He went to eat some breakfast, but Aphedria was in the kitchen so he just grabbed an apple and left quickly. It wasn't like he really thought she would hurt him or anything, but just being in the room with her was kind of creepy. He wasn't sure how Charm had managed to travel with her for so long without getting killed.

His plans for eating ruined, Pyro munched on the apple as he considered other options to occupy his time. Finally, he settled for heading to the training room to get in an hour or so of burning crap. That always put him in a good mood. On his way there, he ran into Toad, who was apparently just finishing his own workout.

"Morning Pyro." Toad greeted. "I had a peaceful, quite night. I'm guessing you ended up in the little girl's room, then?"

Pyro rolled his eyes and pushed past him. "That's none of your business."

"Everything's my business." Toad called after him cheerfully, then continued on his way back to his room.

He was almost there when he heard someone calling his name, and turned to face Charm with a grin. "Looking for your boy toy, pet? He's off in the training room."

"Actually, sugar, I was looking for you." Charm replied. "You remember that little car we found the other day?"

Toad's grinned widened. "You bet I do. What about it?"

"We've got an idea for what to do with it. You wanna come along?" She asked.

His day was getting better and better. "You have to ask? Lead the way."

She grinned at him and he followed her down to the garage, where Backlash and Aphedria were waiting by their new lovely little Porsche.

Backlash scowled. "What's that doing here?"

"He did help me get it, hon." Charm told her. "Figured he should be along when we gave it back."

"I'd be insulted if I wasn't." Toad said. "And hopefully you don't mean give it back in the literal sense."

"Of course not. That would be idiotic." Backlash muttered.

"We're gonna crash it into that new store they opened up on Drayton street." Charm said. "It's a Wal Mart. With a casino."

"Wal Marts have casinos now?" Toad asked. "Wasn't McDonalds, jewelry stores, hair salons, and banking enough?"

Backlash rolled her eyes. "You're wasting time explaining the plan to him, Charm."

"I'm never a waste of time, luv." Toad said.

"You're a waste of everything, frog." Backlash replied, sliding into the driver's seat of the car.

"Good job, Charm." Ahpedria commented as she got into the passenger seat. "Now they're going to be bickering the whole time."

"I know." Charm said with a grin. "Isn't it cute? They're like an old married couple."

Toad grinned widely and Backlash made a strangled sound in the back of her throat, then turned to glare at Charm.

"You must feel especially suicidal today, Charm." Backlash said in a voice completely devoid of emotion.

"I'm shutting up." Charm replied, jumping into the backseat.

Toad hopped in next to her and Backlash drove off.

"So, anyway, we crash the car into the store." Charm said. "And while everyone's panicking, we're stealing crap. And then we make our way to my car, waiting outside, and we're all set."

"And we survive the car crash without any injuries how?" Toad asked.

"Oh, we won't be in the car when it crashes. You'll get out, go inside, then I'll bet the car it can't get inside the store and follow you. It's really competitive." Charm said.

"Yes, thank you for explaining my plan to the simpleton." Backlash muttered. "I don't have the patience for it."

"Shut up, we're here." Aphedria muttered. "And there better be someone who stands against us."

"Don't worry, hon, there will be plenty of humans for you to kill." Charm said. "I'll meet you all inside."

The plan worked perfectly. People were so distracted by the fact that a Porsche had just crashed into the store that few bothered to notice when they started stealing. In fact, some other people even started doing it themselves. And, of course, there were enough people that got in their way to make Aphedria happy. When the cops finally arrived, Aphedria killed one or two of those as well as they were driving off. Just for good measure.

Charm was in the driver's seat now, since it was her car, and Aphedria was sitting next to her. Backlash and Toad were in the back, a pile of stolen stuff between them and on the floor. The two were sorting through it, looking to see what everyone had gotten.

"Okay, who stole a gallon of milk?" Backlash asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was me. There should be a couple more in there, too." Charm said. Then, when everyone just stared at her, she added, "What? We're almost out."

Backlash shook her head and returned to looking. A few moments later, Toad commented, "Charm? Did you steal a cake, too?"

"Yes." Charm muttered defensively. "It was big. And it looked good. And it had 'Welcome Back' on it with little red balloons. And I like cake!"

There was a long pause. Then, Backlash turned to Toad and said, "She doesn't get to steal crap anymore."

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Pyro had headed straight to his room after his training session was finished. It had gone pretty well, he thought, since he had been able to control his fire almost perfectly. It was still difficult for him sometimes, although the hardest part was putting it out. Especially because he really, really didn't want to. But he agreed with Magneto that it was an important skill to learn, so he was doing it.

He had been in his room for over an hour and hadn't heard from Charm, which meant she was most likely off on one of her little trips. One of these days he would have to go along, to see her in action. He figured she was good, judging by the cash he still had under his mattress, but it'd probably be fun to watch.

His door swung open, then, and Pyro grinned as Charm strolled through it.

"Have fun?" He asked.

"You bet, hon. Here." She told him, handing him a CD before plopping down on his bed. "Got that for you."

Pyro turned the CD over in his hands, looking at it. "You got me a CD."

"Yup." She said. "It's Smile Empty Soul. They're great, you'll love them."

He didn't seem to hear her. "Why?"

"Because I felt like it?" Charm said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Geez, hon, are you like this every time someone gets you something?"

"People don't buy me things." Pyro said absently. Except for Bobby, and Rogue, once, when Christmas came while they were both there.

"Well, sweetie, I didn't buy it. I stole it. That make you feel better?" Charm asked. When he didn't answer, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. I've given you lots of cash before. Why are you making such a big deal of this?"

"This isn't cash. It's a CD. It's personal." Pyro accused.

"No, it's not." Charm said, a bit freaked out now. Stupid Pyro, making a big deal out of nothing. "I saw it, remembered there were some songs that you might like, and took it. Took about two seconds."

"Yeah. Okay, you're right." Pyro said, shrugging. "No big deal. Hey, thanks."

"You're welcome. And you're sharing it, you know, 'cause I love them." Charm told him. Good. All better now.

A knock came at Pyro's door, then, and before either of them could answer it opened and Toad stuck his head in. "Put your pants on, kiddies, Daddy's coming home."

Pyro grinned widely and took off, leaving Charm and Toad to follow him to Magneto's office. On the way, Charm grabbed her cake, which she put on an extra desk. Backlash and Aphedria, who were already there, rolled their eyes at her, but Charm didn't particularly care. Before long, Magneto entered the room, accompanied by six new mutants: three men, two women, and a weird creature that looked like a cross between a man and an alligator. They were introduced as Quicksilver, a young man with white hair and blue eyes; Madrox, a handsome man with brown hair and eyes; Psych, a man with blonde hair and brown eyes; Tenebra, a pitch-black-skinned woman with white hair and eyes; Mouse, a girl who looked to be in her teens with brown hair and eyes; and Monster, who was, appropriately, the alligator creature.

After the introductions, Magneto disappeared into the back room with Toad and Pyro. Backlash followed them, and must have been allowed to stay because she didn't come back out. Aphedria took a long look at the six new mutants, then walked out.

Charm grinned. "Don't mind her. Phedria's always like that. I'm Charm, and welcome to the Brotherhood."

Madrox winked at her. "If I had known we were going to get a welcome like this, I'd have tried to get here sooner."

Charm laughed. "Oh, good, someone with a sense of humor. It's hard to find that around here."

"Is the cake for us?" Mouse asked, glancing over at it.

"You bet it is, hon." Charm said. "Stole it myself."

"Great." Quicksilver commented, darting over to grab himself a piece and returning before anyone noticed he was gone. "I'm starving."

Tenebra gave them all a nod and left, followed closely by Monster. The other boys, though, gathered around the cake.

Mouse sidled up next to Charm. "So, Charm, what's up with the cutie in the backroom?"

"Pyro?" Charm replied, then grinned. "He's as hot as his name implies. You should take him for a spin."

"Ooo. Just might." Mouse commented.

"Although apparently you've been traveling with three hotties." Charm said. "Gotta say I'm jealous."

"Actually, I've been traveling with as many hotties as I want." Mouse replied. "Madrox over there can multiply himself."

"Really." Charm said. "How many copies can he make?"

"I don't know. We haven't found a limit yet." Mouse said with a wink.

"We should probably test this some time." Charm said thoughtfully.

Mouse grinned. "That's a great idea. I'm sure between the two of us we can figure it out."

Charm draped her arm over Mouse's shoulder. "Honey, between the two of us, we'd probably kill the poor boy. Come on, I'll show you where you're staying."

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Classes were cancelled that day. They had been cancelled yesterday, too, so Ali had spent all of Monday sleeping. Well, not all of it. She had woken up in time for dinner. Tuesday, though, Ali was awake and full of energy. Because someone had to tell the students what had happened on Sunday night. The teachers weren't saying. They just said that there had been an attack on the mansion, and that the X-men would be spending their time making the mansion as safe as possible. Or something like that. Ali couldn't remember it exactly, she had been half asleep when Professor Xavier had made the announcement Monday morning.

But now? She was totally wide awake. And it was a good thing, too, because Ali was currently outside in the courtyard with all of her friends. There were a dozen of them, including Ali herself, so meeting outside was the best place that both had enough room and was private. Her friends had heard she had gotten attacked by one of the things. So Ali was going to enlighten them on just what had happened.

"So, like, I was just on my way to my room when I run into Rogue in the hall. And she was all freaked out about something, then I realized the shadows were _moving._" Ali told them.

"By themselves." Kitty added. Kitty was one of Ali's roommates, so the fifteen-year-old girl had already heard the story. "Like, totally creepy."

"Come on, Kitkat, let her finish." Jubilee said, nudging the younger girl. Jubilee was sixteen, one of the oldest students in their group. Only Mark and Samuel were sixteen, too, so really Jubilee was the oldest girl. But Jubilee was Ali's other roommate, so she was cool enough. If a little whiny at times.

Oh, wait. Ali let herself get distracted. "Yeah, moving shadows. And it was really creepy. And then the shadows turned into shadow people, like, actually moving about and grabbing us."

"Did you get hurt?" Josh asked.

"No, I'm okay. They didn't get me." Ali told him, secretly pleased he had asked. Josh was cute, with pretty gold skin, and he could _heal _people and he was fifteen, which was almost as old as sixteen. Oh. Ooops. Distracted again. "They wanted Rogue. I tried to distract them, but they went right for her. There must have been, like, seven hundred of them. And then, all of a sudden, more show up. Then five of them smoosh together, like this…." Here Ali brought her hands together in a clapping gesture. "And turned into one. Then it told the others that it was time to go, and they all left."

"Just like that?" Roberto asked, one eyebrow raised. "I find that hard to believe."

"Lay off, dude." Ray said. "They probably had some master plan and had already finished it."

Ray and Roberto didn't get along very well. They were both fourteen, the youngest boys in their group, which might have been why. Or not. Ali didn't really know. At least they weren't roommates, though. They'd probably kill each other.

"I don't know." Ali said. "But Professor Xavier did seem to think they wanted something. He made me leave before I could find out what. But if you guys wanna know what I think…" And, well, it didn't really matter if they wanted to know or not. Because Ali was going to tell them anyway.

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They were back at the mansion now. Apparently Logan had realized that not sleeping for two day's straight wasn't the best way to keep everyone alert. Zephyr figured it was also because they had drove around the city all of Monday, Tuesday night, and then Tuesday without any trace of their missing teammates. They had covered all of Salem Center and had branched out a bit into the rest of Westchester County. They hadn't made it to New York City, but Zephyr seriously doubted they'd find anything there. If Logan couldn't pick up the trail in the area surrounding the mansion, then it was likely the attackers had teleported them straight to wherever they were being held. Zephyr didn't think that was New York City.

Now, Zephyr was exhausted. Rogue and Piotr had headed off to their rooms to grab a couple of hours of sleep, and Logan had joined Storm in a Danger Room session. Zephyr had followed him there, but only to find Warren. She wanted to see him before she went to bed. It was silly, she knew, but she just had to make sure he was okay. She took comfort in the fact that he was relieved to see her, too. Warren had decided to catch some sleep, too, and they were heading up to their rooms now.

Warren had grabbed her hand almost as soon as they had started walking, and Zephyr had laced her fingers through his. There was something reassuring about the feel of his hand in hers. She walked him to his room, then hesitated. Despite how tired she was, she really didn't want to leave him. He reached up with his free hand to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, then rested his forehead against hers. For a long while, the two of them just stood there. Neither of them said anything, just taking comfort in each other's presence, trying to forget about what was going on, even if it was only for a brief moment.

Finally, Warren pulled his head up and requested softly, "Stay with me." When she just looked at him, he continued, "I'm not asking for anything more. I just….don't want to miss you tonight."

"Okay." Zephyr replied quietly, tilting her head upwards to place her lips against his in a brief, feathery-soft kiss.

Warren smiled at her, a bit of relief showing in his eyes. Then he opened the door and she followed him in, closing it behind them.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: **Yay, it's finally up! I actually meant to have this chapter up before I sent you guys the CDs, but oh, well. The second Rachel and Bobby scene in this chapter was pretty much the reason behind their song that's on the soundtrack...Which you'll probably notice. And Warren's words to Zephyr last chapter were from one of the Warren/Zephyr songs on the CD. I'll let you guess which one. ;) And Sam's wonderful fun 'I'd like to see you without your bathing suit thing' is the reason behind Shakira's 'Underneath,' in case no one figured that out. ;) So, um...yeah. I'll probably keep doing stuff like that, 'cause it's fun. So look out for song stuff? Oooo, look, long author's note. Goes with the long chapter? ;)

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**Chapter Eighteen**

It was cold, but then, that wasn't terribly surprising. Giant underground rooms divided into jail cells tended not to be the warmest of places. Or maybe they did. For all Rachel knew, all of the other giant, underground rooms filled with jail cells could be warm as hell. This was the first time she had ever had the pleasure of being in one of them. And down here, it was freaking cold. Rachel was just glad she was wearing her sweatshirt and pants.

_It probably doesn't bother Bobby at all_, Rachel thought, glancing wistfully over at Bobby.

Earlier, after Rachel first woke up, she and Bobby had talked for quite a bit. Apparently whatever had happened, or not happened, between them in the kitchen didn't matter anymore. It was slowly seeming less and less significant. Somehow, worrying about whether or not things would be awkward between you and one of your closest friends just didn't seem important when you weren't even sure either of you were going to be living much longer. He must have thought so, too, because their conversation hadn't been at all strained. Well, not more than the location called for, anyway.

Now, though, Bobby was sleeping. So was everyone else, actually. Except for Anorra. Anorra was sitting the in corner of their cage, her arms around her legs as she hugged them to her chest. Her fingers were idly toying with the sleeve of Piotr's jacket, which she was still wearing. At another time, Rachel would have made some teasing remark or another. But Anorra….Anorra wasn't exactly herself. The scaled mutant hadn't move from that position since Rachel had woken up, which didn't exactly scream of sanity. And any attempt to go near her produced a vague growling noise. As such, Rachel had wisely made the decision to stay clear of her freaked out cellmate.

But without anyone else to talk to, Rachel was lonely. She didn't know how long she had been awake, since they had no way of telling time down here. That was really disorienting, and she had to wonder if whoever had them down here was doing it on purpose. Not being able to figure out how long they'd been down here made everything worse. For all Rachel knew, it could have been weeks. Especially since none of them knew how long they had been out.

She was only just now starting to get hungry, though, so she didn't think it had been that long. She wasn't thirsty, because they had found water. Each cell had one corner walled off from the rest of the cell. A door opened up into a small room, inside of which was completely hidden from view once the door was closed. The room contained a toilet, a sink, and a twenty-four pack of bottle water. Obviously, whoever had them down here was planning on keeping them at least long enough for them to need to drink water and use the restroom. Of course, that wasn't really saying much, since the need for those two things could arise within hours of being caught.

At least they had access to water and such, though. And the walls of the small room provided a surface to lean against that didn't result in being tossed across the room. Most of the sleeping people were taking advantage of it. Cassandra was resting against her wall, getting as close to the bars between her cage and Kurt and Samantha's as she could without touching them. On the other side of the bars, Samantha was leaning back against the wall as well, also close to the bars. Most likely so that Cassandra could feel as much like she had someone with her as possible. In his cage, Bobby was also sitting against one of the walls. Gambit and Kurt were the only ones not making use of a safe surface to lean against.

Gambit had taken off his trenchcoat, folded it up, then plopped down on the floor and used it as a pillow. Kurt was also stretched out on the floor, but his head was resting in Samantha's lap. The fingers of her left hand were tangled in his hair, and his tail was wrapped around her right arm. The large, arrow-head point of his tail was curled around her right hand, almost as if it was holding it. Kurt was also clutching his rosary tightly.

Neither of those facts surprised Rachel at all. Samantha and Kurt hadn't let go of each other the entire time she had been awake. Samantha had always been touchy-feely to the extreme, so Rachel expected something like that from her, but she had been a bit surprised to see Kurt clinging to her as well. Although, as far as coping methods went, a little clinging didn't bother Rachel. It kind of made Rachel wish she was caged with Bobby, but at least it wasn't as bad as Anorra's choice of coping mechanisms.

Admittedly, Rachel had been a bit jumpy when she first woke up, but nothing like Anorra. According to the others, Anorra had paced around the cage for an incredibly long time before plopping down in her corner and not moving. Rachel glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, then looked away again. It was seriously creepy. And it was making Rachel wish, again, that Bobby had been her cellmate. Or anyone, really, except Anorra. Rachel loved Anorra and all, but under these circumstances, Rachel wasn't entirely sure what Anorra would do. And Anorra's behavior definitely wasn't making Rachel feel any more comfortable.

And…well, Rachel just kind of wanted Bobby in here, anyways. She had been thinking a lot about what she had said in the kitchen because, really, there wasn't much else to think about. It was either that or dwell on her impending doom. And that wasn't a really fun topic to think about. Although, actually, whenever she though about her conversation with Bobby, she thought about the doom thing. And she was starting to wonder if maybe she hadn't been wrong.

Yeah, she was only eighteen. But it was occurring to her that maybe that didn't particularly mean anything. Joining the X-men had completely changed her life. She hadn't realized it until now, but that life could be a lot shorter than she thought. Hell, it could end any minute. What the hell was she waiting for? For it to be too late to tell Bobby that she liked him? For….

Frustrated, Rachel shook her head. This wasn't getting her anywhere. And it wasn't doing anything except making her more depressed, more desperate to get out of here. With a sigh, she stretched, and then began practicing her tennis swings.

Some time later, she heard Bobby commented, "Nice. Should have known you'd find some way to get tennis practice in."

Grinning, Rachel stopped swinging and turned to face him. "Of course. It's me." She walked closer to the bars, asking, "Sleep well?"

"Oh, yeah." Bobby said. "The rock mattress was great. I think I'm going to get one put into my bedroom back home."

Rachel laughed. "Well now I'm definitely never going to sleep with you again."

He grinned at her. "It's a very good thing our friends weren't awake for that one."

She rolled her eyes. "They're dorks."

He laughed. "I'm telling them you said that. How's Anorra doing?"

Rachel glanced over her shoulder, then sighed. "Bad. She still hasn't moved from her little corner. I wish I could just do something. Figure out a way out of here or something."

Bobby didn't say anything. Instead, he gently rested his right hand against the energy field on the bars. Little spots of pink and green collected around his fingers, but his touch was light enough that the energy field allowed it. Rachel smiled softly and copied the move with her left, lining up their hands so that, if not for the barrier, they would be touching.

"Bobby." She said quietly. "I've been thinking. About what I said earlier. It doesn't really matter, does it? Who knows how much time I have left? I can't really worry that I'm committing to something too early in my life, can I? Because we don't know how much life we have. Especially…Especially not us, with what we do. What we are."

"You're not gonna die, Rach." Bobby told her, locking her eyes with his. "I won't let you."

Rachel just shook her head. That was sweet of him, but if their captors decided to kill her now there would be little he could do. "I don't want to die without letting you know that I care about you. Without knowing that I at least gave us a try. To see if this could be anything." She paused. "I don't want to die without being with you." For a moment, she worried that he would take that the wrong way and she'd have to ruin the moment by adding 'not sex, dating.'

But then he said, "If you want to be together, then we are. For however long it lasts."

Rachel smiled again and nodded her head.

Bobby bit his lip. "I wish I could kiss you now." He said softly.

"I wish you could, too." Rachel replied in an equally low tone.

They looked at each other for a long moment, then Rachel commented, "I hope we don't die in an hour, now. Because that would be one hell of a short time to have a boyfriend, even for me."

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Anorra's thoughts were starting to be a bit jumbled. Whatever drug had been used to knock her out was apparently not working itself out of her system as fast as it had for the others. Or maybe it was a combination of the drugs and Anorra's panicking predator instincts. The dragon inside her didn't like being captured. It wanted to do what all predators did when caged: attack. Anything and everything, just as long as it got out. It had learned not to go near the bars, though. And Anorra's human side was preventing it from attacking Rachel.

But that meant that she had a very unhappy dragon sitting inside her, fighting to get out. That was one of the main reasons why Anorra had stopped pacing. While she was moving, stalking, the dragon was closer to the surface. Anorra wasn't sure she could keep it away. So she was sitting, arms clutching her legs tightly to her chest as if that would help contain the dragon. It was working, but only barely.

At least she wasn't cold, though. Piotr's big jacket wrapped around her was keeping her perfectly warm. And it smelled like him, too. Anorra didn't realize it, and wouldn't admit it even if she did, but Piotr's presence, however small, was helping her human side remain in control. She did wish he was here, though. If only because he would be able to provide an intelligent person to talk to. Someone who would be able to come up with a plan out of here.

Everyone else seemed to have resigned themselves to their fate. They carried on, chatting like nothing was wrong, but anyone with half of a brain could feel the worry, the fear thick in the air. None of them were even trying to come up with a plan. Granted, Anorra couldn't find one that would work, either, but most of Anorra's concentration was spent trying to make sure her dragon didn't come out and attack anything within sight. What was their excuse?

Anorra was scared. She wanted out of here. She didn't know how much longer her human side would be able to keep the dragon in control. It was hard, fighting her instincts. And the last thing Anorra ever wanted to do was hurt one of her friends. They were the first people to ever accept her, to ever actually care about her. Anorra loved them. The thought that she might lose control, might give into her dragon side frightened her.

Of course, they weren't making it any easier. Fuck, you'd think six people who were supposed to be trained for this kind of thing could come up with some sort of escape plan. Wait to be rescued was just the stupidest thing Anorra had ever heard. Xavier needed to get his students to shape up. They were supposed to be X-men. Since when did superheroes sit in a cage and wait to be saved? That was what the damsel in distress did. And Anorra was anything but a damsel in distress.

But no. They were all sitting around, being completely useless. God, they were actually cuddling. Anorra didn't even want to look over at Samantha and Kurt's cage. The two of them had been groping each other without stop. And that last part wasn't an exaggeration. Cassandra wasn't any better. She kept whining about her fucking Logan snuggles. Anorra didn't have Piotr, and Gambit didn't have Rogue, but were either of them complaining? No. Of course, Anorra wasn't acknowledging the fact that she wouldn't have minded some Piotr cuddling, but that was beside the point. The point was that Cassandra needed to shut the fuck up, and Samantha needed to get her fucking hands off of Kurt. Maybe if they did, they could use their brains to think of something.

Neither of them had to worry about keeping themselves in control. They didn't have to struggle every second with these instincts. But instead of using that freedom to do something worthwhile, they were focusing on boys. Anorra couldn't think of anything more inappropriate. And Rachel and Bobby weren't helping, either. The two of them kept getting as close to each other as they could, talking in hushed voices about who knows what. If Anorra cared, she could listen in. But she didn't really want to know what they were saying.

A glance over at Rachel told Anorra that she was doing it again. God, she and Bobby even had their hands against the bars. That was so sappy Anorra almost wanted to puke. She didn't feel her control slip a little, then, didn't feel the dragon coming closer to the surface. She didn't realize that she never would have been thinking such mean things about her friends if she wasn't letting the caged predator get more control.

Instead, she listened in on their conversation. Part of her was hoping that they were at least going to try to come up with a plan. She should have known better, though. No, Bobby and Rachel weren't thinking of a way out of here. They were apparently going to start dating. Fucking brilliant. Instead of being useful, two of her friends had gotten hooked up, another two wouldn't stop with the PDA, one was harping about getting snuggles from a man who was God knows how old, and the other was…well, Gambit hadn't really done anything. But knowing him, he was probably contemplating ways to get Rogue in bed. That would be his big accomplishment.

Anorra growled to herself. God her friends sucked. Sure, she loved them, but she never, ever wanted to get stuck with them in a situation that called from brains. Because apparently none of them could think with brains. They could only think with hormones. Couldn't they get their sex drives in control long enough to get out of here? Then they could have all the sex they wanted. Anorra didn't care.

And then she heard Bobby and Rachel talk about wanting to be able to kiss. See? Anorra was so fucking right. Bobby and Rachel were looking at each other with those fucking goo-goo dolls eyes, the ones that were supposed to be sweet and romantic but really only meant that the two of them wanted to rip each other's clothes off. And that was when Anorra lost it. Instincts telling her that she had to get out, now, and that anything and everything in here was an enemy, Anorra sprang forward.

Rachel let out a startled scream as Anorra pounced on her, knocking both of them to the ground. Rachel shoved Anorra off of her and stood up.

"Anorra, cut it out!" Bobby said, then yelled, "Guys, wake up!"

Anorra rolled easily onto her foot and then crouched down, eyeing Rachel. Rachel's eyes were darting around the cage as she tried to figure out what she should do, but before she could get a chance Anorra lunged for her again. Rachel ducked and rolled off to the side, but Anorra was there to meet her when she stood up. They stood there again, both waiting for the other to make a move.

By now, everyone else had woken up.

"Anorra!" Cassandra called. "Snap out of it!"

"Come on, Anorra, Rachel's your friend." Kurt told her.

"Look, sweetie, I know the instincts are telling you to fight your way out of here, but you have to control them, okay?" Samantha said.

"Yeah, Anorra, you really, really don't want to attack me." Rachel said, taking a step back.

Anorra was beyond understanding any of them, though, and as Rachel moved Anorra struck. Her hands were formed into claws that gripped Rachel's arms tight enough to draw blood, and Anorra bit down hard on Rachel's right shoulder. Cassandra, Kurt, and Gambit started yelling again while both Bobby and Samantha attempted unsuccessfully to punch through the energy barrier between their cages. Rachel let out a strangled cry and started to try one of Logan's defensive maneuvers when Anorra suddenly stiffened. Her body shook a few times, then she dropped to the floor.

Sometime during the fight, six men armed with what look like tranquillizer guns had come into the room. All six of them were shooting Anorra through the bars, and at least a dozen darts were sticking out of her back. When Anorra stayed down for a few minutes, the men pulled back their guns and holstered them.

"Hey!" Cassandra yelled. "What the hell? Who the hell are you guys?"

"And what do you want with us?" Kurt asked.

None of the men said anything. Instead, one of them pushed a button on his belt and a section of the wall between Rachel's cage and Bobby and Gambit's opened. Without any encouragement, Rachel went through the open door and ran into Bobby's arms. The bars closed behind her and the men started out of the room.

"You sure as hell better be hoping Gambit never gets out of here, homes, cause when he does you all are gonna be hurting." Gambit yelled after them.

Rachel was shaking as she tightened her arms around Bobby's neck, holding him as close as possible. Now she was certain she was going to die in here. If even one of her best friends tried to kill her, what hope did she have that the person behind all of this was going to let them live?

Bobby's arms tightened around her as well, and even without directly touching his skin she could feel the cold coming off him. His body temperature dropped whenever he was scared or angry, and judging by how cold she was feeling he had to be a lot of both right now. But Rachel didn't care. She wasn't going to be moving any time soon. She had to feel Bobby's arms around her, had to be able to hold him like this. Because she didn't know if this was going to be the last time she was able to.

"We need to look at your shoulder." Bobby told her quietly.

"Don't let go." Rachel said without moving her head from his chest. "Just keep your arms around me." She paused for a moment, then lifted her head so her lips were close to his. "You said you wanted to kiss me."

Apparently he didn't need any more encouragement, because before she could really finish talking his lips were on hers. God, his skin was so cold. But Rachel felt more alive in that moment than she had since she got here. His tongue flicked against her lower lip and her lips parted, her own tongue snaking out to meet his. Bobby's hand went to the small of her back, holding her against him, and Rachel knew it wasn't just his cold skin sending shivers down her spine.

Samantha cleared her throat. "I, um, really don't want to interrupt Rachel finally not being stupid, but, uh. Rach? You're sort of bleeding on Bobby. You might wanna take care of that."

Rachel didn't particularly care about her shoulder, but Bobby apparently did because he pulled away.

"She's right." Bobby told her. "Come on, let's fix that."

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On Wednesday morning, the sound of barking woke Warren up just after sunrise. He groaned softly and pulled the covers closer, hoping that if he ignored it, it would either go away or turn out to be a dream. Unfortunately, it didn't stop, and when Zephyr began stirring beside him he figured it wasn't a dream, either. Warren sighed softly, then rolled over onto his side so he could face Zephyr as she woke up.

God, she was so beautiful. Warren had no idea what she saw in him, but he was damn glad it was something. Zephyr had been the first person to really look at him like he wasn't some kind of freak. He couldn't imagine his life here without her. They hadn't talked about their pasts much, just little snippets of conversation, enough to know that they had some similarities. Well, actually, Warren hadn't spoken about his past much. Zephyr had told him about her family, about her worries that her father and brother wouldn't accept her. Warren was the one who was holding back.

He didn't want her to pity him. He had seen it enough in the eyes of the people his father had paid to take care of him. Warren didn't want to risk seeing it in her eyes. Especially because he knew that she would be horrified at what his father had been trying to do to him. But it wasn't his father's fault. His father just wanted to fix things, just wanted to make Warren normal. The only problem was that Warren hadn't wanted to let the wings go. He hadn't wanted to never be able to fly again. And now, mainly due to Zephyr and the others here, Warren was starting to think that maybe he was already normal.

Zephyr opened her eyes, then, and smiled at him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Morning." He greeted.

"Morning." She returned, then frowned. "Is that a dog?"

"I don't know." Warren answered, then sat up as Zephyr slid out of the bed and moved over to the balcony doors.

"It doesn't sound like a dog." Zephyr said as she pushed them open and stepped out onto the balcony. Her eyes darted around in search of the source of the barking before finally settling on a black wolf standing just in front of the Institute main doors. "Sam!" Zephyr yelled, turning to run back inside.

"Sam's outside!" She called to Warren as she darted past him and out into the hall.

Warren's eyes lit up as he chased after her, helping her bang on the other adults' doors on their way down to the front entrance. Zephyr skidded to a stop in front of the main doors and threw them open. A huge black wolf bounded inside, letting out a howl as it started sniffing all over the room.

"Sammie?" Zephyr asked.

The wolf paused as Scott, Piotr, and Rogue trooped down the stairs and into the halls.

"Is that you, Sam?" Rogue asked.

Zephyr took a closer look at the wolf, though, and after seeing amber eyes shook her head. "No." She said softly. "That's not Sam."

The wolf sat down, locking eyes with Zephyr.

"It's Arabus." Zephyr said.

"Arabus?" Piotr asked.

"He's Sam's." Zephyr answered. "She raised him from a pup, so they have some mind link or something."

"Mind link, eh?" Logan asked as he and Ororo came up from the basement.

Scott glanced at Arabus, then looked at Zephyr. "Can he sense her now?"

Arabus shook his head.

"You know where she is, bub?" Logan asked, stepping closer to the wolf again.

Arabus shook his head again, making a soft whining noise.

Ororo considered this for a moment, then asked, "Could you find the place where you last sensed her?"

There was a pause, then Arabus nodded his head.

Ororo smiled. It was almost like working with Jean. Except she had a mindlink with everyone. And, well, she could actually speak.

"We should go get the Professor." Scott said.

"There's no need." Xavier told him, rolling in. "I'm right here." He stopped and Arabus walked over to him. For a long moment, the two just stared at each other. Then, Xavier commented, "His mind is almost as well developed as a human's."

"Can you talk to him, Chuck?" Logan asked.

Xavier shook his head. "No. He is still an animal, after all. But he should be able to lead you to the place where he lost contact with Samantha. And since I believe our companions are being held in a shielded facility, that could very well be where they all are. Can you give Ororo a general direction?"

Arabus nodded.

"All right." Xavier said. "Storm, Cyclops, prep the Blackbird and take off that way. Will you be able to lead from the sky?"

Arabus paused a moment, then nodded once more.

"Wolverine, Colossus, Zephyr, and Angel, get suited up and board the Blackbird. Rogue, suit up and go tell Elixir and Amp to put on their uniforms." Cyclops said.

"What, we're letting kids go into battles now?" Logan demanded.

"They'll stay on the plane, Logan." Cyclops told him. "We need Elixir to perform any emergency healing, and we need Amp to strengthen his power."

"Yeah, and look how well it worked last time we told the kids to stay on the plane." Logan muttered.

Rogue shifted uncomfortably. "They won't be able to get off, Logan, we'll lock down the plane. Elixir's got some piloting background, he can take off if there's any trouble."

"They're right, Logan." Xavier said. "Unfortunately, we may very well need Elixir's abilities."

Storm nodded her agreement, then looked over the group. "All right, X-men. Let's go get our people back."

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The tip of Kurt's tail was twitching about erratically, but he didn't notice. Sometimes it seemed as if the thing had a mind of its own, at least when it came to random movements that Kurt had no idea it was doing. Really, though, it tended to be an extension of his emotions or thoughts. And Kurt wasn't exactly the most steady of people right now, so his tail was doing the twitching for him. He had his rosary loosely gripped in his right hand, and although he wasn't saying the prayers he was absently moving the beads with his thumb, twisting each one in turn.

His eyes were on Samantha and Cassandra, though. The two of them were standing facing each other, running through some kind of martial arts routine. Their movements were slow, fluid, and graceful, making what they were doing look like some combination of yoga and martial arts. Apparently it was a routine Logan had been teaching them. Kurt imagined it made them feel better to go through the motions, especially Cassandra.

Kurt's heart went out to her, being stuck in that verdammt cage with no one to keep her company. At least he had Samantha here. He wasn't entirely sure he would be functioning so well if he didn't have someone to remind him that he was here. Being caged like this was starting to bring back flashes of the last time he had been held against his will. He didn't remember much of it, mainly because his mind had been so completely im arsch. But he did remember where it had lead to, and Kurt didn't want anything like that to happen again.

But he had God on his side, so he could survive for a little while without being in contact with someone. Cassandra needed the distraction more than he did right now. And he knew that Samantha would be calmer from the routine, even though she had been slightly hesitant to let him go. It was the first time that she had done so since her failed attempt at charging the bars.

That reminded him of Anorra, and he glanced over at her briefly. She was still unconscious. Bobby's tee-shirt had been sacrificed to bandage Rachel's injuries, but Kurt doubted that the emotional wounds from what had taken place between Anorra and Rachel would be taken care of so easily. Fortunately, Rachel had managed to get to sleep. It might have had something to do with the fact that she was now in Bobby's cell. Bobby had gone back to leaning against the wall to sleep, but now Rachel was in his lap, leaning against his chest. His arms were around her waist, and both of their hands were entwined. Kurt couldn't help thinking that they looked cute like that.

Gambit caught him looking at the couple and sent him a wink before returning to his game of Solitaire. Kurt chuckled slightly, absently wishing he had thought to carry a deck of cards in one of his coat pockets. Of course, for Gambit, the cards were usually weapons. It just happened to be very handy that they could double as a source of entertainment during a situation like this.

He was jolted out of his thoughts, then, by Samantha's amused comment of, "Well, at least your tail's paying attention."

Kurt looked at her and discovered that his tail had wrapped itself around her ankle. He chuckled slightly, but left it there, asking, "Are you and Cassandra finished?"

"Yeah." Samantha said. "She said her mind refused to remember the moves anymore and she was going to try and go to sleep."

Kurt nodded. "Do you need to get some sleep, too?"

She shook her head. "Nah. I slept enough already." Her eyes flicked briefly over to Anorra.

He frowned at her. "Don't be ridiculous. There's nothing you could have done, especially not with the barrier."

"I know." She said softly. "I'm actually kind of grateful for the barrier right now."

Kurt blinked. "Why?"

She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "A dragon may be a mythical animal, but it's still an animal. Not much of one, and Anorra's mostly human, but she still registers on whatever animal recognizing system I have. It's very small, and normally I don't get anything from her, but…panic's a really strong emotion. Especially when there are thousands of animals inside me whose instincts are telling me to respond the same way she did."

"Why did you?" Kurt asked.

"I'm not just predator." She said. "I'm prey. And prey don't usually fight. They run, they hide, they cling to each other. But most of them don't attack things. I guess…I guess the instincts are kind of fighting with each other."

He was silent for a moment, then he asked, "If you could have felt Anorra's panic, would you have done the same thing? Would you have attacked me?"

"I don't know." Samantha admitted quietly. "I would have fought it. But if Anorra got into my head, in enough panic to attack Rach, then…I might have. But you stopped me before. That's another thing I have. You."

"I have you, too." He said. "You're keeping me from dwelling on the past. On the last time I was in a situation like this."

"Stryker." Samantha said, then paused. "You don't think he's behind this?"

Kurt shook his head. "No. He's dead. And so is Jason."

"Jason?" She asked.

"He produced the serum that allowed Stryker to control minds." He said.

Kurt must have given away more of his feelings than he intended, because Samantha reached out to take his free hand. She didn't say anything, she just held his hand. For a long moment, they stayed quiet.

Then, Samantha asked, "Tell me about Germany?"

"What about it?" Kurt asked, amused.

"I dunno. Everything. Where were you born? How'd you get involved in the circus?" She asked.

"Well, I don't know where I was born." He said. "Margali found me when I was just a baby and took me in. She was a gypsy, and she traveled with a circus with Jimaine and Stefan. They were her children." He clarified. "Margali always treated me just like one of her children. Stefan and I were just like real brothers. We even took a blood oath when we were kids." Kurt said, a sad smile on his face. "Jimaine, though…I never saw her as a sister."

"What'd you see her as?" Samantha asked.

Kurt looked away.

"Oh." Samantha said. "Did you ever tell her how you felt?"

"No." He said. "She was in love with someone else. And it was…It was nothing, really. When I was old enough, I started training with the other trapeze artists. For awhile, I was the lead acrobat." Kurt said, a hint of pride showing through.

Samantha smiled. "Why'd you leave?"

Kurt seemed to deflate again.

"It's okay." Samantha said. "Don't worry about it. You can tell me when you're ready. Or, you know, not at all. Whatever works. So, um, since you shared, wanna hear my boring-ness?"

"I'm sure your childhood wasn't boring, Samantha." Kurt said, sending her a grateful smile.

"Oh, no. It's boring. I'm from Montana. My parents own a dude ranch. I grew up there, training horses with my older brother. And then later I got to lead trail rides and stuff. I went to a huge high school, though, because all the kids from three or four towns went there. And then I graduated and left for college." She said. She had glossed over some of her darker memories, but that was the gist.

"That doesn't sound boring." Kurt said. "It sounds fantastisch."

"You should come with me, next time I go visit." She said. "I think you'd like it."

Kurt smiled at her. "Dankeschön. Perhaps I will take you up on that offer."

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"They're coming." Aleric said as he walked up next to him.

"Are they?" He asked absently. "How long has it been?"

"Just over two days." Aleric replied.

He leaned back in his chair. "Hmmm. Quicker than I thought. Xavier didn't break through already, did he?"

"No." Aleric replied. "We don't know how they found us. Are you sure you don't want me to make it harder for them?"

He shook his head. "No, I can't risk Xavier finding out about you. Let them come and get back what we took."

"Do you think any of them would be of use to us?" Aleric asked. "That one, it didn't take long in there for her to turn.

He frowned slightly. "Yes, I don't know why that happened. It goes against the rest of the data we have on her." He sighed. "It's becoming so hard for me to understand how their minds function. All of what they do is so insignificant." He gave another shake of his head, then tilted his head at Aleric. "The world would be a much better place if there were more like you."

Aleric glowed at the compliment and he smiled. It was just another way of keeping Aleric on his side. In truth, though, he meant it. Aleric was one of those few that were worthy enough to serve him. It was something to be proud of.

"You're lonely, aren't you Aleric?" He asked.

Aleric blinked at the subject change, then gave a very slight nod. "Will my brothers arrive soon?"

He leaned forward again. "Unfortunately, I can't see the future. But we have time, Aleric." He reached for the computer console, changing the screens so that each one showed a camera from a different part of the holding facility. "And we still have a lot to know."


	19. Logan the Unicorn

It was a nice, sunny afternoon, and Logan had decided to spend it taking a nap. Because he was hung-over. It wasn't his fault. All those damn kids hanging around the mansion just drove him to drink. A lot. Unfortunately, his nap was ruined by the arrival of his two favorite people, Cassandra and Samantha. And even more unfortunately, the two women had discovered the remains of Logan's stash of Canadian beer. Which was now gone. All thirteen bottles.

"Hey, Logan!" Cassandra greeted cheerfully.

"Wake up, Logan!" Samantha said.

"Yeah, you silly sleepy head. Wake up!" Cassandra said.

"Uh, you guys." Logan grunted. "This better be pretty freaking important. Is the mansion on fire?"

"No, Logan, we found a map, to Candy Mountain!" Cassandra said.

"Candy Mountain, Logan!" Samantha told him. "We're going on an adventure, Logan!"

"Yeah, we're going on an adveeeentuuuuure!" Cassandra agreed.

"We're going to Candy Mountain!" Samantha announced. "Come with us, Logan!"

Logan stared at them for a moment. "Yeah, Candy Mountain, right. I'm just going to back to sleep now."

"Noooooooooo!" Samantha said, jumping up onto the couch.

Cassandra followed her, bouncing up and down. "Yeah, Candy Mountain! It's a land of sweets, and joy, and joy-ness!"

"Stop bouncing on me." Logan muttered.

"Candy Mountain! Candy Mountain! Candy Mountain!" Samantha said in a sing-song voice.

Logan rolled his eyes. "All right, fine, I'll go with you guys to Candy Mountain."

The three of them walked outside, the girls leading the way.

"La la la la la la la la." The two women sang as they walked into the woods surrounding the mansion.

"Enough with the singing already!" Logan shouted.

"Our first stop is over there, Logan!" Samantha announced.

Logan looked in the directed she pointed and saw a huge, scary looking dinosaur-like thing. "Oh, God, what is that?"

"It's a leopluradon, Logan!" Samantha said.

"A magical leopluradon, Logan!" Cassandra agreed. "It'll show us the way. The way to Candy Mountain!"

"Okay, you guys know that there's no actual Candy Mountain, right?" Logan asked.

"Shun the non-believer!" Samantha said.

"Sssshhhhhhuuuuuuuuunnnnnnn!" Cassandra told him.

The leopluradon opened its mouth, letting out a creepy gurgle.

Cassandra beamed. "It has spoken, Logan!"

"It has told the waaaaaay!" Samantha said.

Logan looked at them in disbelief. "It didn't say anything!"

Cassandra and Samantha ignored him, leading him to a really rickety looking wooden bridge. Reluctantly, he followed them, eyeing the bridge suspiciously.

"It's just over this bridge, Logan!" Samantha told him.

Cassandra grinned. "This magical bridge. Filled with hope and wonder!"

"Is anyone else getting covered with splinters?" Logan asked. "Get off the bridge, guys, we shouldn't be on this thing."

"Loooogan. Loooogaaaaan. Logan. Looooooooooooogaaaaaaaaaan." Cassandra said.

"I'm right here, what do you want?" Logan demanded.

"We're on a bridge, Logan!" Cassandra informed him cheerfully.

They finally got off the bridge, walking over a hill until they came to a huge pile of boxes with candies drawn and pasted on them. Little orphans wearing letter costumes spelled out the words 'Candy Mountain.' Logan had the sneaking suspicion that they were actually midgets, though, since one of them had a definite five o'clock shadow.

"We're here, Logan!" Samantha shouted.

"Well what do you know, there actually is a Candy Mountain." Logan said sarcastically.

"Candy mountain, candy mountain. Fill me with sweet sugary goodness." Samantha sang, climbing up on top of the boxes to dance around.

"Go inside the Candy Mountain cave, Logan!" Cassandra suggested.

"Yeah, the Candy Mountain cave! Magical wonders to behold when you enter!" Samantha said.

Logan stared at them. "Yeah, thanks, but, no. I'm just gonna stay out here."

"But you have to go into the Candy Mountain cave, Logan!" Cassandra protested.

At her words, music started playing from inside the cave. Really, really annoying music. Music that he would probably find himself humming later and then be really pissed off. The little guy dressed as a 'Y' separated himself from the rest of the letters and began to sing, while colored lights shone from the "cave."

"Oh when you're down and looking for some cheering up

Then just head right on up to the candy mountain cave

When you get inside you'll find yourself in a cheery land

Such a happy and joy filled and perky merry land

They've got lollipops and gummy drops and candy things

Oh so many things that will brighten up your day

It's impossible to wear a frown in candy town

It's a Mecca of love, the candy cave

They've got jelly beans and coconuts with little hats

Candy rats chocolate bats, it's a wonder land of sweets

Find the candy train to town and hear the candy band

Candy bells, it's a treat as they march across the land

Cherry ribbons stream across the sky into the ground

Turn around, it astounds, it's a dancing candy tree

In the candy cave imagination runs so free

So, come on, Logan won't you please go into the candy cave."

His song done, the 'Y' went back into his place in the title of the mountain.

Logan rolled his eyes, but figured if he went inside, there'd be nothing in there and he could just go back to his fucking nap. "All right, fine, I'll go inside the fucking cave."

"Yaaaaay!" Cassandra said cheerfully as he walked inside the cave.

"Good-bye, Logan!" Samantha commented.

"Yeah, Logan, good-bye!" Cassandra said.

Logan blinked. "Wait, good-bye? What?"

Doors he hadn't seen when he walked in closed behind him, cutting off all the lights. Logan blinked again, looking around. "What's going on here?"

He heard footsteps coming up behind him, so he whirled around, demanding, "Who is that?"

No answer came, though, and he felt several large, blunt objects whacking him in the head.

Sometime later, Logan woke up to find himself back on his couch, with a serious headache. "What the hell happened?"

He shifted slightly and felt a sudden pain in his side. Upon closer inspection, he realized that there was now and lovely cut in his stomach that had been recently stitched back together.

"Oh, God, they took my fucking kidney!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Just a brief little intermission to provide some nice amusement. Because, you know, the last chapters have all been seriously emo. And, plus, this is what happens when you guys leave my apartment. No leaving for you! Or at least no leaving me and Paesha with an internet connection and access to Charlie the Unicorn. Wahahahahahahahahahah. Hah. 


	20. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: **Yay. Chapter. Real chapter, not Logan the Unicorn. Hehehe. Oh! And I'm gonna take a moment to say thank you to all the shiny reviewers! And especially the people who I don't know in real life. You guys rule for actually reading my retarded, crack-induced fic. Lol. Yeah, and that last chapter was totally not part of the story. Just a random little funnyness that doesn't really happen. Aheh.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

It was just past five in the morning when the meeting finally ended. Backlash had been present for the whole thing, making her officially one of Magneto's lieutenants. Which was a good thing, as he would most likely be needing more of them soon. Magneto had been busy in the few months that he had been away. In addition to the recruits that had arrived with Magneto yesterday, two more were due to come today. One would be returning with Mystique, while the other had refused an escort and would be arriving whenever the hell he felt like it. Pyro wasn't sure if that meant he would be coming whenever he felt like it today or sometime in the near futre, but Magneto had assured them that the young man would be arriving today. He just wasn't positive when.

Pyro didn't know how he felt about all these new people coming. Especially since Magneto had decided to put an extra emphasis on teamwork and had created training sessions that would force them to work together. Pyro did have to admit that he was right, though. Those X-geeks knew that there was strength in coordinating their powers, covering each others' weaknesses so that everyone was stronger. And since the X-men were taking advantage of that strategy, if the Brotherhood wanted to have any chance at defeating them, they would have to do so as well.

In any case, Pyro trusted that Magneto knew what was the best approach to training. After all, he and Xavier had been friends for years. Magneto would doubtless know what the telepath's weaknesses were. Besides, after the meeting, Pyro didn't really want to try and force his brain to work any more. He just wanted to go into his room and crash on his bed, then sleep for as long as possible. So he was relatively relieved when he reached his room and didn't find Charm waiting for him. If she had been there, she probably would have pouted her way into getting him to have sex with her. Which, of course, wasn't a bad thing. He was just sort of in the mood for sleep.

He had been in bed for only a few minutes when he had to get up to make a trip to the bathroom. On his way there, he passed Charm's room and discovered why she hadn't been waiting for him. Two female voices were giggling from inside, and Pyro gave a bit of a grin. The other one was probably Mouse. He knew Aphedria and Backlash well enough by now to know that there was no way either of them would be in Charm's room giggling, and Magneto's report on Tenebra ruled her out as well. Pyro shook his head as he went to the bathroom and headed back to his room. Well, at least the two girls would have the teamwork thing down pretty easy.

Pyro managed to sleep for a few hours before Toad came in to wake him up for a training session with all of the present lieutenants. They performed well, and finished before ten o'clock. Since Pyro wasn't exactly sure when the two new recruits would be arriving, he figured he should probably stay up. And, of course, since he had to be up, there was no way he was going to let Charm sleep in. He headed off to her room and opened the door, walking in without knocking.

The two girls had apparently fallen asleep some time during their long conversation. Pyro grinned mischievously as he eyed them for a moment, then he sauntered over to the bed and jumped up on it. He plopped down as hard as he could on the edge of the bed next to Charm, sending both girls bouncing a few inches into the air.

Mouse let out a small 'eeep' noise, but Charm just opened one eye to glare at him.

"What the hell was that?" Mouse demanded sleepily.

"Pyro joining us." Charm commented, slipping one arm across Pyro's chest and tossing her leg over his.

"No, that would be time to get up." Pyro informed them.

"Nope." Mouse replied, rolling over to face the two of them. "Sleepy time."

"Lousy wake up call, hon." Charm said with a smile before she closed her eyes again.

"Hey." Mouse grumped. "How come you get to snuggle with the cute boy."

"'Cause I'm extra special." Charm answered without opening her eyes.

"Come on, get up." Pyro said, attempting to sound stern.

"No getting up." Mouse protested, closing her own eyes and snuggling back under the covers.

"You're with us now." Charm agreed.

Pyro considered for a moment, then gave in. He had wanted to go back to sleep anyway. Might as well sleep in bed with two hot girls.

* * *

Her hands were shaking. Well, she assumed both of them were shaking. But since one was being firmly held by Angel, Zephyr could only see one of them trembling. She willed it to stop, but it ignored her, so she gave up and cast her gaze around the plane. Angel was sitting next to her, tapping the fingers of his free hand absently on his knee. Rogue was across from her, a blank expression on her face as the Southern girl took rhythmic breaths, murmuring something that Zephyr couldn't understand. Next to Rogue was Colossus, his dark brown eyes staring off into nothing. His hands were gripping his knees, though, so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

In the front of the plane, Storm was piloting with Cyclops sitting in the co-pilot's seat. Arabus sat between them, using a different movements and sounds to indicate which way they should go. Towards the back, Wolverine stood in front of Elixir and Amp. He was speaking in low, forceful tones, likely telling the two students exactly what would happen if they left the plane.

Tension lay thick in the air, but underneath that was a sense of hope. Zephyr chose to cling to that. They would find her friends, and get them out of…where ever they were. And then everything would be okay again. Because it just had to be.

* * *

Kurt's tail was wrapped around her arm, and Samantha was absently running her fingers across the silky fur that covered it. It comforted her, a lot more than she was willing to admit. Just him being there, for her to touch, made her…well, made her remember she was human. It had to be him, because she wasn't entirely sure she was strong enough to keep her animal side in control in a situation like this. Her head was resting on his shoulder, and she tilted her head so she could see his face. He felt the movement and turned to look at her. Kurt smiled as his eyes met hers, and it was then that Samantha realized something.

She was kind of in love with him. Or if not quite in love with him, then…almost there. Huh. When had that happened? Well, so much for her avoid love as long possible policy. Samantha smiled back at him, then shifted, leaning her head against his shoulder once more. It didn't matter. There was no way he'd return the feelings, so Samantha would just have to ignore it. It'd probably go away soon, anyway. Actually, it was probably just because of what was happening. Things like this messed with people, so she was probably just trying to latch onto a friendship and make it something more.

Satisfied that she had a solution, Samantha cast her gaze around their cells. "I hear that train a'coming," She sang absently. "It's just around the bend. And I ain't seen the sunshine since, I don't know when."

"I'm stuck in Folsom Prison," Gambit added, taking over the song. "And time keeps draggin' on. But that train keeps a'rollin', on down to San Anton."

Samantha grinned and sang along with him, "When I was just a baby, my momma told me son. Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns."

"It's a good thing Anorra's out right now." Rachel muttered under her breath.

Gambit and Samantha didn't seem to hear her, though, since they kept right on singing. "But I shot a man in Reno. Just to watch him die…"

"You guys have an interesting way of passing time." Zephyr commented, drawing everyone's attention towards her. She stood there grinning, holding a set of keys in one hand.

Gleeful cries of "Zephyr!" sounded as everyone stopped what they were doing and moved towards the doors of their cages.

"How'd you find us?" Samantha asked.

"And how'd you get in here?" Kurt questioned.

"Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, and Angel are distracting the guards." Zephyr told them as she unlocked Samantha and Kurt's cage. Samantha immediately hugged Zephyr.

Zephyr hugged her back, smiling widely.

Samantha grinned back, then paused, her eyes unfocusing slightly. "Arabus? Baby?"

"Oh, yeah, he led us here. Something to do with your mind link. He's outside picking off the sentries." Zephyr said.

Samantha beamed and did a little twirl around. "You're back! No, I won't ever leave again. Lonely as hell without you all in there."

"Yay for Sam. She hears voices again." Cassandra said with a grin. "Can I come out now?"

"Rogue and Colossus should be here soon." Zephyr said. "They…"

"Actually, Rogue and Colossus are here right now." Rogue cut in. "With the other set of keys."

"Is everyone all right?" Colossus asked, looking around. "What happened to Anorra and Rachel?"

There was a moment of silence, then Bobby said, "We'll, um, explain later."

"Yeah." Rachel agreed. "Somewhere that's not here."

The topic was dropped, and Zephyr let Cassandra out while Rogue went around to unlock Bobby, Gambit, and Rachel's cage. Cassandra gleefully joined Samantha and Zephyr in a group hug, while Bobby carefully led Rachel over to them.

"We've brought Elixir and Amp with us." Colossus told Rachel. "They're waiting on the plane, so do not worry. You will be good as new in no time."

"Come on, swamp rat, let's move it." Rogue told Gambit, who had hung back in the cage.

"Wait one moment, chere." Gambit said, taking Rogue's hand and pulling her inside the cage.

Before she could protest, his mouth had covered hers in a deep kiss. To her surprise, nothing happened. Shocked, Rogue pulled away for a moment, then leaned in to kiss him again. Her hands slipped under his shirt, feeling his warm skin beneath her fingertips. His own hands roamed over her body, touching as much skin as was possible. When they finally broke apart, a small tear fell from Rogue's eye. Gambit reached up to wipe it away, smiling at her.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Thought you might enjoy that, chere." He told her softly.

Rogue kissed him one more time, then reluctantly lead him from the cage. She left him with the others as she and Colossus went to go unlock Anorra's cage.

"How did you know that Rogue's power would be considered an active one?" Kurt asked.

Gambit shrugged. "Didn't. Remy just figured it would be worth the risk."

Before anyone could reply, Cassandra called, "Logan!"

Sure enough, Wolverine was walking towards them, with Amp and Elixir following him meekly. Cassandra ran towards them, practically tackling Wolverine as she wrapped her arms around him. Surprisingly, at least to most of the people watching, his own arms tightened around her just as fiercely.

"You okay?" He asked her quietly.

"You're here." She replied. "I'm perfect."

After a moment, he released her and they joined the group. Samantha was the only other one to hug him, and Wolverine tolerantly hugged her back before turning to glare at Elixir and Amp.

"Guess who I found following us?" He asked rhetorically.

Amp gave a sheepish smile. "The lock on the plane was broken?"

"Yeah, I bet it's broken now." Wolverine growled as Rogue, Colossus, and Anorra joined them.

Colossus had Anorra carefully cradled in his arms. Amp spotted her and pointed.

"See, look, someone's hurt." Amp commented.

Elixir nodded. "We knew someone would be. We were only thinking ahead, really."

Wolverine growled again. "You two are going to be in big trouble when we get back home." He looked over the group, taking an injury count. "All right, since you're here, take care of Rachel."

Amp beamed and Elixir gave a slightly cocky smile. Elixir grabbed Amp's hand, which she was _not_ going to blush at. Amp's hand glowed red, amplifying Elixir's power. He placed his free hand over Rachel's shoulder. It glowed as well, a bright gold as he concentrated on his healing. Before long, Rachel's injuries were completely gone.

Rachel smiled, stretching out her arms. "Good job, guys."

"Like these two would ever just stay on the plane." Samantha commented cheerfully, moving over to hug them like she had everyone else.

Amp grinned, but Elixir blushed slightly, his gold skin turning a light pink.

"The doors were supposed to lock them in." Rogue said, glaring at the two students.

"Not if they can't shut all the way." Amp said. "It's not our fault there happened to be a loose metal pipe between the door and the wall."

"Exactly." Elixir agreed. "We don't know how it got there."

"Shut up, you're wasting time." Wolverine said. "We're out of here."

They hadn't gotten very far, though, when they were met by a dozen or so armed guards. Wolverine grinned and lunged at them, followed very closely by most of the others. Colossus hung back, though, since he was still carrying Anorra.

The fight hadn't gone on very long when Cassandra suddenly turned towards him. "Put her down!"

"Pardon?" Colossus asked.

"Anorra!" Cassandra yelled. "Put her down! Now!"

Colossus looked down at Anorra, then back to Cassandra, but before he could say anything, Anorra's body began to shift.

* * *

When Pyro woke up, it was just past one in the afternoon. Their sleep hadn't been interrupted, though, so the new recruits must not have come yet. Unless one of the other lieutenants had handled it, but Pyro doubted it. Mystique was supposedly bringing one of them in, but he doubted she hang around afterwards. She'd most likely want to go talk to Magneto. Both Toad and Backlash would probably dump the newbie off on him. Sadly, Pyro was actually the most sociable person out of the lieutenants. Well, Toad could be pretty sociable, if he was in the mood for it. Especially if the new recruit happened to be female.

In any case, no one had come to wake them up, so Pyro wasn't concerned about his impromptu nap. Of course, he wouldn't have been concerned with it, anyway, but at least no he knew he wasn't sleeping while he was needed.

Charm was still half on top of him, making it difficult for him to move. Pyro rolled his eyes slightly and moved anyway, sitting up so that her arm slid off. Charm grumbled under her breath, opening her eyes to stare at him.

"What's with the moving?" She muttered.

"Get up." He replied.

"That's your job." Charm said.

He considered that for a moment, then snickered before smacking her. "Shut up. And come on, no more sleeping."

"That's what you said a few hours ago." Mouse murmured. "And yet here we are, still sleeping."

Pyro pushed Charm's leg off and rolled out of bed. He grabbed the comforter and tugged, yanking it off the two girls.

"Hey! Give that back!" Mouse demanded.

"You suck, hon." Charm said, but she gave a long stretch and slid out of the bed. "We should probably get up. It's after one."

"Damn. We slept away the morning. Go us." Mouse commented, sitting up.

Pyro looked at them for a moment, noticing without surprise that both of them had decided to sleep in their underwear. "Get dressed, you two, you're going to help me show around the newbie."

He walked out without waiting for an answer. It didn't really matter whether they listened to him or not. He figured they would, though, especially Charm. The fact that she tended to do what he asked, eventually, hadn't gone unnoticed. Of course, he was over looking the fact that he often did what she asked as well.

Sure enough, a few minutes later Charm and Mouse joined him in the rec room.

"So where's this new guy?" Charm asked.

"Not here yet." Pyro replied. "And I don't know if he's a guy."

"What are we supposed to do when he gets here?" Mouse questioned. "I did just get here yesterday, you know."

He shrugged. "Entertain him. You guys are good at that."

Mouse raised an eyebrow. "How do you know what I'm good at?"

"He doesn't. Maybe you should show him, hon." Charm said, grinning. "Of course, then I might get jealous." She winked.

"Oh, don't worry, I've already heard all about what he can do." Mouse said. "Then again, it might be fun to experience it."

Pyro tried to figure out how he felt about Charm telling Mouse all about their sex life and decided he didn't care. "Good to know you brag about me."

"All the time, sweetie." Charm told him, then spotted an unfamiliar woman with red hair and blue eyes walking by. "Yo! New girl!"

The woman turned sharply, the heels of her boots clicking together as she faced them. "I have a name. It's Nic."

"You have a codename, hon?" Charm asked.

Nic frowned at her before replying. "It's Arsenic. But unless we're in battle, Nic will suffice."

"Okay, Nic, I'm Pyro." He said. "Welcome to the Brotherhood."

Nic smiled, looking relieved. "You're Pyro?" She stood straighter and gave him a salute, face perfectly serious. "Thank you, sir."

Pyro nodded. So she was the military girl. Magneto had said that Nic would be providing them with some very important information. "You're welcome. This is Charm and Mouse."

Nic nodded to them, then turned back to Pyro. "Mystique said I should inform you that I have already been given a tour, sir. She also says that next time you should get your lazy ass out of bed because she sure as hell isn't going to go in and wake you up."

Pyro grinned, amused. "She would say that. Look, girls you got me in trouble."

"Like you didn't enjoy it." Mouse said.

"Let's go out." Charm commented suddenly. "Come on, Nic, we'll show you the best places to get a drink around here."

Nic stared at them. "You want me to go out drinking with you?"

"Sure." Mouse replied. "Don't tell me you guys didn't go drink in the army. It'll be like a welcome here thing."

Nic turned to Pyro. "Will you be going?"

"If I don't, they'll drag me out, anyway." Pyro commented. "We might as well go."

"Awesome!" Charm said with a grin. "Come on, we'll take Crimson."

* * *

The dragon woke up before she did. By the time Anorra was aware of what was going on, she was just finishing the change into her dragon form. For a moment, Anorra was thrilled. That meant she was out of the cage, able to change again. Damn, it felt good. Being human was fine, and definitely had its perks, but it was nothing compared to being a dragon. This was she was. This form was where she belonged. When her feet started moving, though, Anorra felt a brief twinge of panic.

It was then that she remembered what had happened before she had been knocked out. It was fuzzy, as if it had been a movie, or a dream, but it was there. And she suddenly felt a bit sick. Her jaws closed around a guard, then, and she tore, ripping him almost in half. Anorra watched herself move onto another, leaving that one dying on the ground behind her. Someone attacked her from behind and she lashed out, knocking him over with her tail.

He went flying into the cave wall and Anorra heard a rumble of pleasure come from her. She buried her muzzle into the soft abdomen of another guard, and when she lifted her head it was bloody. Anorra's vision was blurry now, and the roar that she knew was hers sounded distant. She struggled to gain control, to make herself stop. She was only attacking guards now, but what would happen when they were all gone? But she was tired, from the drugs and from fighting it as long as she had. And the dragon was stronger. The room faded further, and then Anorra was gone.

* * *

Yelling wasn't getting them anywhere. They all knew it wouldn't, though. It wasn't hard to tell that Anorra was beyond hearing them. She tore through the guards with glee, and when more showed up, she killed them, too. No one really knew what to do. This was Anorra, one of their best friends. They couldn't just attack her. But she was on the last few guards, and few people thought she would stop when they were all dead.

"I can try to reach her." Samantha said. "We're out of the cages, now, maybe I can get to her."

Without waiting for approval, Samantha dropped her shields. Instantly, a wash of fury filled her and she gasped. Anorra shouldn't have been this strong in her mind. Samantha never got any emotions of off Anorra, unless she really tried. And even then, they were faint. Anorra was a mutant, not an animal. But this….This was all animal. Samantha could barely even feel her friend any more. It was like the dragon had just over powered her, shoving her into some dark corner in her mind while it did whatever the hell it wanted.

Samantha knew the feeling. In fact, she could feel it right now. Anorra was strong, so was her dragon. Without her shields, Samantha was vulnerable to the emotions of animals. And fury was a damn powerful emotion. Especially when Samantha had already been feeling it a bit herself. These people, they had hurt her. And they had hurt her pack. Why the hell shouldn't they be killed? They'd all pay. She'd show them what she was, that they weren't stronger than her. There was no way _humans_ were going to push her around.

She howled, not a hunt song, but a killing one. The hunt was over. In the distance, she heard a return howl and she grinned, showing off fangs. Samantha lunged, moving to join the dragon in its killing, but something grabbed her. She whirled around, then caught the person's scent and stopped. He was pack. She was confused. Why was he stopping her? He should be helping her, helping her defend them. Samantha sniffed the air, and realized none of her packmates were moving to join in the kill.

She snarled as another wave of anger hit her and her eyes locked with Kurt's. She stopped. No. Samantha was stronger than this. She controlled her power. Her hand grabbed Kurt's, as if he could keep her anchored. Her eyes darted around the room, then landed on Amp and she grinned.

"Amp!" Samantha called, holding out her free hand.

Amp's eyes lit up and she jogged over, grabbing Samantha's hand. Keeping her grip on both of them, Samantha turned back to Anorra. Suddenly, Samantha felt incredible. She could hear animals from thousands of miles away, their thoughts in her head as clear as if they were right next to her. Just as easily, she banished them away, and focused on Anorra.

_Anorra! I know you're in there, sweetie, come here! _Samantha called.

_Sam?_ Anorra asked, sounding far away.

The dragon bristled at the intruder in its mind and pushed at her. Samantha pushed back, refusing to leave. Her mental grip on it tightened, locking it in place. The dragon fought, but Samantha ignored it.

_I need your help. _Samantha said. _This is your dragon, not mine. You're not animal enough for me to control it. Not for long. Come on, girl, you're human. Remember that?_

Not sure if it would work, Samantha pushed her emotions at Anorra like she would if she were comforting an injured or lost animal. Added to that, she sent the sense of Anorra as a human, then prayed.

Something must have worked, because Samantha suddenly felt Anorra's presence become stronger. Working together, the two girls reigned in the dragon, leaving Anorra back in charge.

Blinking, Anorra looked around. _I'm sorry. I'm so, so…. _She shook her head and made a decision. _I have to go. _

Before anyone could protest, Anorra took off, running as fast as she could until she was out of the cave and up in the air.

"Anorra!" Colossus called, starting to go after her.

"Don't." Samantha said, sounding exhausted. "She needs some time alone." She had let go of Amp's hand awhile ago, and now she wrapped her arm around Kurt's waist, leaning against him slightly as if for support in standing. "Can we go home now?"


	21. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: **Kind of short, but this I've done all I wanted to do with it, so it's up now. And….uhh….that's about it. Too distracted watching alternate endings to X-men 3.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

There was blood on her muzzle, but it wasn't human. The last trace of human blood had vanished a few days ago. At least the physical traces, anyway. It was still pretty fresh in her mind. She had a brief flash of blood dripping, her friends screaming, and she shook her head before dipping it into the lake to wash off the deer's blood. When she was satisfied that it was mostly gone, she sat back on her haunches, staring across the lake to the trees lining the other side.

The soft flapping of wings caught her attention and she turned to look at the bird landing in a tree near-by. She knew instantly that it was Samantha, even though the tree was downwind from her. Few hawks tended to have black feathers and green eyes, after all. Anorra sat silently, waiting for the other woman to speak.

Samantha shifted back into human form first, then quietly offered, "Hey."

_How'd you find me? _Anorra asked. _I didn't think anyone knew where this was. _

"Animals tend to talk. Especially squirrels." Samantha said. "And a big silver dragon is something to talk about."

Anorra nodded, and silence stretched between them.

"Made any progress?" Samantha asked finally, going straight to the point.

Anorra looked at her for a moment. _Yes. I think I'm back in control now. _

"Okay. Good." Samantha said. There was another long pause before she jumped down from the tree. "Let's go home."

Anorra cast her gaze over the lake once more. _I grew up here, you know. This is home. _

Samantha followed her gaze. "It was, once. But you don't belong here, Anorra. Your home's with us."

_I belong where I won't hurt anyone. _Anorra replied, her mental voice slightly bitter.

Samantha shook her head. "You're not the first person who lost control of her powers, and you won't be the last."

_They don't turn into a rampaging dragon and try to kill their best friends when they lose control. _Anorra said. _They don't cause the damage I do. _

"Sure they do. You think the mansion would still be standing if Scott didn't wear his glass constantly? Or if Rachel started conjuring tennis balls like crazy, or Gambit started blowing up everything he touched, or Bobby froze everyone? And Hank, Logan….they've got animal inside them. Enough that, if it came out, bad shit would happen." Samantha paused. "And there's me. I don't always have the best control, either."

_You had enough to control me. _Now the bitterness in Anorra's voice was obvious.

"No I didn't." Samantha said. "I had your help. And Amp's."

_You were still able to contain what I couldn't. _Anorra said.

Samantha could tell that the argument was pointless, so she dropped it. "The point is, all mutants run the risk of losing control and hurting people, destroying things. That's what happens when you're born with a special power. It kinda sucks sometimes. And some times, you need some time away to deal with that. But eventually, you have to come home. Hiding out here forever isn't going to fix things."

Anorra moved her gaze from the lake to glare at Samantha. _I never said I was going to stay out here forever. I'm not hiding. I'm getting my control back so-_

"I know." Samantha interrupted. "I know why you had to leave. And I understand why you did. I just wanted to let you know we love you. And we miss you."

Anorra dropped her head, letting her chin rest on her front talons. She had a feeling not everyone would miss her.

"And, you know, if you're going to try and learn how to keep your power under control, what better place than a mutant school? That is the reason Xavier created it." Samantha said softly.

When Anorra didn't say anything, Samantha rested her hand affectionately on the dragon's shoulder before letting it fall back to her side. "Come home. Please." With that, Samantha disappeared back into the forest, presumably heading back to the mansion.

* * *

The next day, Anorra left the forest. As she flew over New York, in dragon form, she spotted some of her friends gathered at an outdoor café. She swooped lower and realized they were in the middle of a fight with some of the Brotherhood members. She recognized Pyro and Charm, but there were two other girls and a guy that were unfamiliar. The guy launched a blast of red out of his hands at Rachel and Anorra tucked in her wings, dropping down to land hard in front of Rachel. The blast hit Anorra in the side and she winced, knowing she'd have a huge bruise there later.

"Anorra!" Samantha called cheerfully, grinning.

_You guys looked like you could use some help. _Anorra commented.

"Aw, hell, that's no fun." Charm said. "The dragon's here."

"Come on guys, let's go." Pyro said, pausing to stare at Bobby long enough that Anorra wondered what the hell had happened between them.

"Leaving again, Johnny?" Bobby asked, smirking at him.

Pyro sneered, but took off with the other Brotherhood members.

Cassandra grinned. "Good job, Anorra. See, this is why we keep you around. Big dragon scare off yucky people." She beamed innocently at Anorra. "You wouldn't want to fly us home by any chance, would you?"

* * *

Zephyr was in a fairly good mood, at least a lot better than she had been recently. About a week had passed since everyone had been rescued, and Anorra had come back to them today. Sure, Rachel and Anorra were sort of avoiding each other, but that didn't matter. Her family was finally all together again.

Now she was hanging out in Warren's room, lounging on his bed while he searched for something in his dresser. He must have found whatever he was looking for, since he turned to face her, holding something behind his back.

"I, um." Warren said hesitantly, pausing to push his hair out of his eyes. "There's something I wanted to give you."

She blinked at him, then smiled. "You bought me something? You didn't have to do that."

He shook his head. "I didn't buy you anything, it's…" He trailed off and held out his hand.

Zephyr reached out and picked up what he held. It was a man's ring, silver and inlaid with sapphires. It rested on a thin silver chain. Her eyes widened as she stared at it. "Warren…"

"It was my grandfather's. He gave it to my grandmother, who gave it to my father. My father gave it to my mother, and she gave it to me." Warren told her. "I want you to have it. It matches your eyes. And your hair. And…"

Zephyr was torn. She wasn't sure she could accept the ring. It had been in his family for generations, she couldn't just take it….But she could read the look in his eyes. She could see the fear in them. He was worried that she wouldn't like it, that she would refuse him. And she just couldn't do that.

"It's beautiful, Warren." She told him. "Thank you."

When the alarm sounded, they gathered briefly in the main entrance. Some of the Brotherhood members were attacking them. So far, they hadn't made it past the defenses built into the grounds, but they were slowly approaching the mansion itself. The attack didn't really seem planned, though. Bobby had mentioned the fact that they had won a fight earlier that day, and the Brotherhood hadn't exactly been pleased.

Logan was pissed. Damn kids and their revenge gigs, invading his territory. He left before Scott gave him the go ahead, not even listening when One-Eye yelled after him. He unsheathed his claws, charging out with a roar. Everyone had just gotten back here, they deserved a fucking break. Apparently they just couldn't get one.

He was already locked in battle with some redheaded girl when he sensed the others joining him. Wolverine gave a feral grin and dodged the girl's punch, kicking her in the abdomen. Bobby went right to Pyro, and the two separated slightly from the main group, locked in a battle that Wolverine was pretty sure neither of them would win.

Angel had taken to the air, but after that Wolverine had to focus his attention on his opponent. She was trained, enough that she was almost a challenge for him. Almost.

He felt wind tugging at his shirt and he turned to see what looked like a tornado forming. Zephyr was sucked up into the center, spiraling towards the sky. After a few moments, the tornado suddenly stopped as the cause of it, a white-haired boy, slammed into an invisible wall. Wolverine grinned a bit. Good on Zephyr, figuring out how to use her powers to get her out of there.

Unfortunately, Zephyr had been up pretty damn high by the time she had been able to stop him. She started to drop, plummeting towards the ground until Angel swooped in to catch her. He flew along with her in his arms, but one of the boys on the ground shot something similar to Scott's eyebeams out of his hand right at them. It hit one of Angel's wings, causing feathers and blood to spray out. Angel flapped his wings in a desperate attempt to stay in the air and the wing that had been hit tore free, leaving only a small stump.

"Go Havok!" Charm shouted, giving him a grin.

The red beam boy, who was apparently Havok, grinned back at her and shot another beam. This time Angel saw it coming. He threw Zephyr aside and the blast hit him in the torso. He fell to the ground, landing with a sickening crunch.

Zephyr fell, too, but before she could hit the ground she stopped. For a moment, she was in mid-air, lying on some invisible shield. She looked puzzled, then the surface disappeared and she fell the rest of the way to the ground. It wasn't too far, though, and she was more or less unhurt. She managed to pull herself up so she was on her hands and knees, and the first thing she did was crawl to Angel, kneeling by his side.

* * *

He wouldn't stop bleeding. Oh, God, why wouldn't he stop bleeding? She didn't know which wound to try and stop, his wing, or his chest, or….She let out a choked sobbing sound and abandoned what remained of his wing, moving the cloth to the wound on his abdomen. The bundle of cloth that had been there was dark red, already nearly soaked through. It had been someone's shirt, once, but Zephyr didn't know whose. It didn't matter.

She pressed hard against the wound, but the blood still seeped into the cloth. She tried to see it as hopeful. If blood was still flowing, it meant his heart was still pumping, and he was still alive. She just, she just had to make sure his blood kept pumping inside of him, not into the cloth and on her hands. God, there was blood everywhere. There was just too much. How could he have this much blood in him?

His hand reached up, pale and shaking, and somewhere inside of her she knew that he was dying. His fingers grabbed hers, pulling her bloody hand away from his chest to clasp it tightly.

"I don't remember." Warren murmured, his voice soft and slightly distant. "Did I ever tell you that I loved you? Because I do. I love you so much."

Part of her wanted to be angry with him. He picked now to tell her this, now that she could still feel his life spilling out over her hand? But there was no more room for anger inside her. Her chest already felt like it was going to explode, and there were tears on her cheeks that she hadn't realized she had shed.

"I love you." She replied quietly. "So you see, you're not going to leave me. I'll keep you here, okay?"

He closed his eyes and swallowed wetly, a small trickle of blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth. "I think there's blood in my lungs." He said absently.

"Oh, God." Zephyr said, holding Warren's hand tightly and wondering how the hell she was going to make him stay. "Please."

"I'm sorry." He told her.

She shook her head wordlessly and threw herself to the ground next to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"I know it's gross." He said. "But, would you kiss me?"

Without hesitation, she lifted her head up and pressed her lips against his. He was weak, she could feel it in the kiss, and she could taste blood in his mouth. But she didn't stop. She didn't want to break the kiss. As long as they were like this, as long as she was holding him….

Zephyr knew the second Warren died. His chest stop moving under her, his lips stopped responding to hers, and his grip on her fingers went limp. Her heart stopped for a moment, at the same time his did, but hers picked back up again while his remained silent. And something inside her broke.

* * *

Samantha's jaws were clamped down on Havok's throat, and if she didn't let go soon he most likely wouldn't survive. Wolverine wondered if she had ever killed anyone before, but he couldn't let that distract him. These people had been on his territory long enough. He let out a feral roar and threw himself at the nearest enemy, claws flashing in the artificial light.

Wolverine didn't know who it was, but he knew the person didn't belong here. His claws slashed and he could smell more blood in the air. He heard two roars, one that sounded like a lion and another one that was half dragon and half human. Samantha and Telepsa. Whatever they were doing must have worked, because the enemy pulled back.

He would have chased them, but the sight of Angel's broken body caught his eye. Zephyr was lying half on top of him, her lips against his, but Wolverine could tell that he was dead. Fury filled him, but he could smell the grief on Zephyr and his claws sheathed themselves.

One of Angel's wings lay a few feet away, torn and bloody, and Wolverine absently wondered what they would do with it. They should bury it with the kid. At least he'd be whole, in the ground.

* * *

They buried him the next morning. Zephyr was still in shock. It was like her brain had just gone on vacation, leaving her only half functional. She spent most of the night staring off into space, responding only on the second or third time someone called her name. After awhile, people had stopped trying to talk to her. The other girls stayed with her, but none of them said anything. They didn't even sleep. They all just sat in Zephyr's room, silently grieving.

Now they all stood in an open field on the mansion grounds, watching the casket standing above the freshly dug grave. Cassandra's fingers were laced through Logan's, and he didn't seem to care. Bobby had his arm around Rachel's shoulders, and her arm was tightened around his waist. Rogue looked near to tears, and Gambit stood behind her with his arms draped over her. Samantha was holding Zephyr's hand, and Anorra stood close on Zephyr's other side. Kurt was griping Samantha's other hand while Piotr was standing next to Anorra. Scott, Ororo, Hank, and Professor Xavier stood with them, staring sorrowfully at the casket.

Behind them, rows of chairs had been set up for all of the students. Many of them were crying as the priest stood over the casket, speaking in Latin. He finished speaking and stood aside so everyone could see the casket behind lowered into the ground. A soft, sad song began playing, and Zephyr gripped the ring around her neck tightly as she watched dirt being shoveled on top of the casket.

_We stood outside in the summer rain_

_Different people with a common pain_

_A simple box in that hard red clay_

_Where we left him to always remain_

_Let your love cover me_

_Like a pair of angel wings_

_You are my family_

_You are my family _

With that, Zephyr broke down. Tears streamed from her eyes as she shook her head, unable to understand why he had left her. And it just seemed as though nothing mattered much anymore.

Samantha's arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, and it wasn't long before the other girls were hugging her as well. For a moment Zephyr let herself be comforted. Then, she gently extracted herself from the group hug.

"Zephyr…" Rachel started.

Zephyr shook her head. "Don't. Please. I…I think I need to be with him."

She moved over to his grave and kneel by the tombstone. Her hand lifted up and she rested it on the cool stone. Then she just sat there, staring at his name engraved in the stone. The others watched her, unsure what to do. Finally, they slowly began to head inside, until only Zephyr remained.


	22. Chapter 21

**Author's Notes: **Between this chapter and last chapter, Rachel died. Sorry guys. These things just happen. And apologies for another short chapter, but I had a very specific idea of where I wanted this one to end. I'll try to make the next on longer. :)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One**

It had been three days, and Zephyr hadn't spoken to anyone since the funeral. In fact, she hadn't come out of her room. She just really didn't see a reason to. Havok, the bastard who had killed the man she loved, was dead. They had found his body in the woods a little after Warren's funeral. Apparently, when Samantha had bit down on his throat, she had torn it out without knowing it. He had run off with the others, but he hadn't made it very far before he had dropped and bled out.

Zephyr had never considered herself a vengeful person, but she was actually glad. He deserved to die. He deserved a lot worse than getting his throat ripped out. It had been too good for him. The only bad thing about it was that she wasn't the one who had killed him. Of course, it was probably a good thing that it had been Samantha who had done it. Zephyr wasn't sure she would be able to kill someone else, even if it had been the person who took away the only man who had meant more than anything. She also didn't really think that Warren would have wanted her to become a killer. He probably wouldn't have wanted Samantha to, either, but Zephyr had no control over that.

She didn't have any control over what Samantha was doing right now, either. Zephyr hadn't seen Samantha in nearly two days. The first day, Samantha had been in there constantly, but now…Now it was only the other girls who showed up in her room, trying to get her to talk and making sure she ate. All the others had come in once or twice, too, and Bobby was in there a lot. They kept trying to comfort her, but….nothing worked.

Zephyr knew she was making her friends worry, and a part of her wished she could do something to make it stop. But the bigger part of her, that didn't care. She didn't care. She didn't really care about anything, right now. She wasn't allowing herself to care about anything. If she didn't, then maybe she would stop hurting so bad. It didn't work, though. She had never felt so alone in her life. She couldn't even sleep. Actually, she couldn't remember the last time she had slept.

Someone walked into her room, and she glanced up as Samantha sat down next to her.

"I'm leaving." Samantha told her quietly.

Zephyr blinked rapidly at her. "What?"

"Charm, and the white-haired guy that caused the tornado." Samantha said. "They're going to be dead."

Zephyr didn't entirely know what she was supposed to think of that. "Are you going to kill them?"

Samantha looked away. "I thought you should know."

Zephyr stared at her. "It won't bring him back."

"I know." Samantha said softly. "But it's not fair to let them live while he…" She paused. "I'm sorry. You don't need this right now."

Zephyr shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Nothing really matters any more."

Samantha hugged her tightly, then stood and started out.

"Wait." Zephyr said, climbing to her feet. "I'm going with you."

* * *

It was so easy to find Magneto's lair that it left the girls wondering why they hadn't tried it before. Samantha had just dropped her shields, sending her consciousness out exploring until she found some animals who had seen the people she was looking for coming in and out of a farm house. They took horses, because the animals could cut through the forest and take them up to the edge of the fields that the house was surrounded by.

It didn't take them too long to get there. A few birds knew where there was a secret entrance, a door stuck in a tree. It was locked, but Zephyr just solidified the air pressure inside the lock and forced it to turn, mimicking a key. The door slid open, and the two women slipped quietly inside. Samantha had her bow and a quiver of arrows, because she had taxed herself finding the place and wasn't entirely sure she'd have enough strength to change and fight. Zephyr, though, was relying entirely on her powers.

There were mice, cockroaches, and spiders enough in the underground lair to let them know where their targets were. They had already decided who they were each going to go after, so without a word they separated. Samantha headed off to find Charm, and Zephyr continued down the hall towards the white-haired boy's room.

It occurred to her, then, that she still didn't know his name. She was here with the intention of killing him, and she had no idea who he was. Only that he was at least partly responsible for Warren's death. That was all she needed to know. Her hand was on the doorknob to his room and she turned it without even realizing it. Then she was inside, closing the door behind her.

He was stretched out on the bed, lying on his stomach and flipping through a magazine. He looked so normal, just a young man relaxing in a pair of black sweats and a white tanktop. Zephyr didn't understand how he could do that, how he could just be calming lying there when Warren….

He looked up at her entrance, getting ready to say something. The comment on his lips died as he saw her there. For a very long moment, neither of the moved, just stared into each other's eyes. Then, he stood up and she lifted a hand.

The air pressure around him thickened, holding him in place. Then she concentrated, focusing on the air around his neck. Make it stronger, make it press against him harder. Make it so he couldn't breathe, the way Warren would never breathe again. And then it could be _his_ body lying cold and dead in the ground instead of Warren's…

Abruptly, Zephyr stopped, releasing her power. The white-haired man fell to the ground, unconscious but still breathing. She couldn't do it. She couldn't kill him, no matter how much she wanted to. No matter how much she thought he deserved it. His death wouldn't make Warren come back.

Zephyr must have been there for awhile, because the next thing she knew she heard the door opening. For a moment, she panicked, but then she saw Samantha slip into the room. Her bow was still slung over her shoulder, but her quiver was empty.

"What happened to all your arrows?" Zephyr asked.

"Gone." Samantha replied. "She had this shield thing that deflected them all after I hit her the first time. But it didn't matter, because that one was more fatal than she thought." Her gaze landed on the unconscious man.

"I choked." Zephyr said softly, a few tears leaking out of her eyes. "I couldn't kill him. I'm sorry."

Samantha shook her head. "That's probably a good thing. Come on, let's go."

Zephyr started out, but before she could leave she felt a pair of strong arms grab her by the neck.

"You tried to kill me." The man whispered, sounding slightly crazy.

"And she didn't." Samantha said. "Let her go."

"No." He replied, then raised his voice. "We're under attack! Two of-"

He didn't get a chance to finish, since there was suddenly a small hawk attacking his face. Talons slashed at his throat and a beak buried itself in his eye. He shrieked and sped off, but the hawk's talons and beak dug in, clinging to him. Blood pooled over the hawk, coloring its feathers a dark red. The hawk's beak abandoned his eye and tore into his throat, yanking out flesh until the hawk's whole head could fit in the hole in his throat. By that time, he had stopped running and fallen to the floor.

The hawk hopped away and shifted. Before long, Samantha stood there in only a black bra and panties, covered entirely in glistening blood.

"I shouldn't have done that." Samantha murmured, staring distantly at the dead man on the floor.

Zephyr swallowed, her whole body shaking. She didn't know what she should be feeling. At that moment, it happened to be a mix of satisfaction, fear, and disgust. "Let's just go home."

Samantha nodded and picked up her bow, slinging her empty quiver onto her back before following Zephyr. They were almost out when Pyro came running by. His eyes stopped on Samantha and widened. She snarled at him and automatically raised her bow before remembering that it was empty. He started for her, but she ducked out the exit and ran for the horses. Zephyr had already mounted, and Samantha did so at a run before urging the two horses to take off as fast as they possibly could.

* * *

Someone had been in the women's showers for nearly two hours now. The same someone, actually. Kurt knew his female friends enjoyed their long showers, but that was pushing it a bit. He wondered if she would manage to use up even the mansion's massive supply of hot water. He was also not quite sure that being in the shower that long was very safe. Was it the same as staying too long in a hot tub?

That was why he was loitering in the hallway outside, debating whether or not to say something to whoever was in the shower, when he heard the very distinct sound of someone throwing up. It was followed by the loud thud of a body hitting tile, and Kurt rushed into the showers, not even caring that he was the wrong gender to be entering there.

The water was still running as he pushed aside the curtain and saw Samantha kneeling on the ground, her hands planted on the tile as she breathed heavily. Kurt reached over to turn the water off, but Samantha reached up and grabbed his wrist.

"Don't." She said softly. "The blood's not gone yet."

"Sam…" He started.

"I can't get it to come off." She continued. "I tried, but it just won't. I don't…." She trailed off.

Without thinking about it, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him. She buried her face into his chest and cried, her hands clutching his shoulders so hard that he could feel her nails digging into his skin.

"I don't even know what to feel." She murmured. "I killed three people, and…maybe I feel nothing."

"If you felt nothing, liebe, you wouldn't be in here." He replied, absently stroking her hair.

"I know." She whispered. "But I kind of wish I felt nothing." She paused, then shook her head. "No I don't. I don't. They deserved death. And I deserved this. Because otherwise I'd be just like them. Am I just like them?"

Kurt hesitated. "I…I don't know if what you did was right. But what you did, you did out of love. They killed out of hate, or else for nothing." He paused before quoting, "'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.'"

She looked up at him. "Do you hate me?"

"I could never hate you, liebe. Never." He replied. "Ich liebe dich."

"I don't deserve that." She murmured, then tilted her head up to kiss him. "I love you, too."

* * *

Pyro shouldn't really care that she was dead. It shouldn't bother him that he had pulled an arrow from her body just minutes after letting two X-men, one of them blood covered and bow-toting, escape. But he kept forgetting and going into her room, before he'd remember that she wasn't ever going to be in there. And every time he went into his room, he'd expect her to be sitting on his bed, smirking at him. But she wasn't. And she never would be again.

Which was why he was once again on the Institute grounds. Mouse was with him, and the two of them had dragged along Sneak, the chick who could cover them from being discovered by the computers or Xavier, and Portal, who could get them out of there in no time. This was strictly a revenge thing. Get in there, kill the two girls responsible, and get out. Mouse lowered the sound around them so they could get inside without being heard. They would have to pick the lock, though, because Charm was dead.

In the end, they climbed up the side of the mansion and entered through an open window. It didn't take too long for them to make it upstairs, where Pyro knew Bobby's room was. As long as he still had the room they had shared, anyway. Hopefully Samantha and Zephyr's rooms would be on the same floor. Luck was with them, though, because they had only walked a few steps when they ran into Samantha.

Before she could say anything, Pyro flicked on his flamethrowers. Fire leapt out from his hands and surrounded her. Samantha screamed, and Pyro increased the heat, making it as hot as he possibly could.

"Burn, bitch." Pyro hissed.

* * *

This was the second time in just over a week that Logan had been woken up by screams. This time, though, he knew it wasn't Cassandra. Mainly because she was currently lying beside him. Since Warren's death three days ago, Cassandra had been spending the night in his room. They didn't do anything more than cuddle before falling asleep, but in a way that was more intimate than sex. Logan had plenty of sex before, but he couldn't remember a time when he just slept with another woman.

But Cassandra needed him. It wasn't that hard to tell. Especially not when she started crying in the middle of the night and clung to him in her sleep. She even clung to him during the day. When she wasn't with Zephyr and the other girls, she was with him. Usually just holding his hand, leaning against him, and generally making some form of physical contact. They had never done that in public before. But if anyone noticed, which was doubtful with what these kids had just gone through, none of them said anything.

Even Xavier and Scott had remained silent, though, which was sort of odd. Logan would have thought that at least Scott would have given him some sort of comment about his conduct with the younger team members. But Scott seemed to just accept it as a normal occurrence. Maybe he had finally loosened up enough to realize that if Cassandra needed comforting, Logan was going to give it to her, regardless of what stick-up-ass had to say. Still, though. It just seemed a bit off. Logan had some kind of unsettling feeling, like something was wrong and he couldn't figure out what.

Maybe it was because he was still sitting here when some of the people who had been responsible for Warren's death were alive. Or, well, had been sitting there while they were alive. He knew they weren't any more. He knew very well where Samantha and Zephyr had been when the left that day. They had come home smelling of death and blood, and though they might have avoided being seen by anyone else, they couldn't hide their scent.

The two of them shouldn't have had to do that. Logan should have made sure that it wouldn't be necessary. But he couldn't leave Cassandra alone for as long as it would take to kill the others who were the reason that Warren wouldn't live past legal drinking age. And now, as Logan smelled Brotherhood members in the mansion, he realized that what Zephyr and Samantha had done was coming back to bite them.

He rolled out of bed, not bothering to be careful about disturbing Cassandra. While he didn't really want her out there fighting, he knew she'd probably be awakened anyway. He didn't wait for her, though, he just barreled out of the room as fast as he could.

Pyro and three female mutants were out in the hall, and a burning figure was falling to the floor. Pyro was still shooting fire at her, and it only took Logan one sniff to realize she was Samantha. Logan leapt for the fire mutant, but before he could reach him Kurt popped into existence behind Pyro. Kurt's tail darted out and wrapped around Pyro's neck, then lifted him up and flipped him over. Logan heard a faint crack as Pyro's neck snapped. No one else seemed to hear it, though, and Kurt tossed Pyro away, sending him flying to the floor a few feet away.

Rachel, Anorra, Bobby, and Cassandra had come out while Logan was preoccupied, and Bobby quickly doused the flames. Rachel lobbed a flaming tennis ball at the nearest female mutant, who ducked and ran over to Pyro's side. She grabbed his arm, then the other two female mutants joined them. A purple circle opened up underneath them, then closed with a flash as all four of them were gone.

Kurt crouched by Samantha, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder before he hesitated, realizing that touching her might make things worse. He spoke rapidly in German for a moment before switching to English. "Someone call Hank. Now."

Logan had that feeling again. This just wasn't the way it was supposed to be. His family didn't die. No one hurt his family. His head began to feel a bit fuzzy and he shook it, trying to clear it. He could feel fury rising inside of him, and before he knew it his vision began to fade around the edges. A roaring sounded in his ears, and then everything was completely black.

And then he caught a familiar scent that had no right being her. He turned, and saw her walking towards him. Her red hair was longer than it had been last time he saw her, and it blew in a wind that he could feel, but otherwise she looked exactly the same.

"Jeannie?" He asked, not quite believing it.

Then she smiled at him. _Hey Logan._


	23. Shortest Chapter Ever

**Author's Note: **Megan is naked and Angel is groping her with his wing! And then she wants to die so she can be in heaven with him! But now she changed her mind and is coming up with some really strange idea for Angel to come back that I'm not really listening to because I'm writing this. And now Paesha and Megan are talking about aaaallllll of the people dying in Charmed. There are a lot. Actually, it's usually the same people dying over and over and over again.

Oh, what's that? You want the chapter? Well, see, this chapter is kind of short. Like, the shortest chapter ever. As in, only a page and a half long. It's sort of an intermission chapter. So I'm trying to make the author's note really really long in order to make the chapter seem longer…..But it's not working so I give up now. Not my fault, they wanted me to put up chapter. IT WAS THEM! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

"Jean." Logan said, his voice almost a whisper.

_This isn't the way things are supposed to be, are they?_ Jean asked, casting her gaze around as if she could see through the blackness to what was happening.

Logan stared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

_This isn't where you're supposed to be, Logan. This isn't your home. _She said.

"You came back from the dead to tell me that I don't belong here?" He asked, trying not to sound hurt.

_That's not what I meant. _Jean replied. _And I didn't come back from anywhere._

Logan didn't say anything. He just looked at her. Ever since she had died, he had thought about seeing her again. She had been the only woman he had ever loved, and when she had died it was like a piece of him had died as well. But looking at her…He didn't feel what he had thought he would. There was still that dull ache he felt inside whenever he was near her, the one that told him he could never have her, but...It just didn't hurt quite as much as it used to. Maybe that part of him that she had taken with her was still gone.

_And maybe something else took its place. _Jean told him.

He glared at her. "Reading my thoughts without permission, Jeannie?"

_Sorry. _She said. _I can't really help it here. _

"Where is here?" He asked.

_The astral plane._ _You were already heading here, I just intercepted you. _She said. _We're only consciousness here. Just the spirit, or soul, or whatever you want to call it. And no, you're not dead. _

He looked her over. "What about you?"

Her expression saddened slightly. _I'm dead, Logan. You've accepted it. So has everyone else. _She looked around again, making him wonder if she really could see through the dark. _I'm sorry to come back like this, to make you doubt that. But I don't think I had a choice. _

"Why not? Why are you here?" Logan asked.

_Because something's happening that I can't explain. I've been watching you, all of you. _Jean said. _So I felt it when you left. _

"I never went anywhere, Jeannie." He said. "If you were watching, then you'd know that after you died, I stayed around."

She smiled at him. _I know. I was talking about something else. A few days ago, you left your body. Something ripped you out of it. I don't know what, but I saw where you went. You went dimension-hopping. The last few days, you've been in an alternate dimension. _

"Alternate dimension?" Logan repeated.

Jean nodded. _They exist. In fact, there's almost an infinite number of them. I can reach some of them here, but not all of them. I was just lucky that the one you went to was one I could still see. So I waited, to see if it would happen again. And it did. This time, I caught you. _

So something was messing with him. Great. Because he hadn't had enough of that already. "Can you send me home?"

She shook her head. _No. And I can't keep you here, either. Whatever it is that has you is still pulling. And I don't think it will stop. As far as I can tell, you're just going to keep randomly switching dimensions until…._

"Until what?" Logan demanded.

_Honestly, I don't know. _She admitted. _But there's a way out. Putting you in the body of an alternate dimension Logan causes problems in that dimension. It changes the way things are supposed to be. And one of those problems is the way out. It'll be in someone close to you, someone whose life would be affected by you changing. Most likely one of the X-men._

"Most likely?" Logan repeated. "How I am supposed to find this problem, and what the hell am I supposed to do with it when I do?"

_It could be a Brotherhood member, I don't know. Not likely, though. And you just have to try and find as many people who you know as you can…They may not be the same as you know them. In fact, they probably won't be. But once you find them, you'll know whether or not it's them. You'll be able to recognize the prob…_

Jean faded out, then, and Logan was once more thrust into black-ness.


	24. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: **Yay chapter. And yay for finishing and around five in the morning. So, uh, hopefully this all makes sense. Because it's sleepy time for me now. I'll post this tomorrow…Or later today, actually…And when you read this it will be later today, so that last comment was pointless….Anyway! Chapter! With shiny alternate dimensions of fun!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

The blackness didn't fade, but it lightened after only a few moments. Logan found himself sitting down, and he could hear the rushing of traffic. He opened his eyes and realized he was in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle. A truck, it looked like, as he looked behind him to see the bed of the truck through the back window.

"Well, it's about time." Cassandra commented.

Logan turned and saw her in the driver's seat. Except that it wasn't her. He was in another alternate dimension. What was he supposed to do now? Jean had said that he was supposed to find people. He had no idea what she was talking about, with the problem in the dimension and how he was supposed to use it to get out. She'd said he'd know who it was when he saw them…He guessed he'd just have to trust her, and try to figure out what he was supposed to do with that person when he found them. Because otherwise end up being helplessly tossed about through dimensions. And there was now fucking way Logan was going to just sit there and allow himself to be pulled around like a piece of fish bait.

"Are you still not talking to me?" Cassandra asked.

Logan started to say something, then paused as he realized he had no idea why he wouldn't be talking to Cassandra. In fact, he had no idea where they were going, or why, or even if anything that had happened between him and Cassandra in his world had happened here. What if something was different, something that was important in their past that he didn't remember because he hadn't been the one who lived it?

"Okay, I'll take that as a yes." Cassandra said, then sighed. "Logan, hon, you can't just hate him forever."

Okay, why couldn't she give him context clues to work with? He still had no fucking clue what was going on. So instead of replying he asked, "Are we almost there?"

Cassandra shook her head and went back to watching the road. "It's still the same place, Logan. Although I suppose it's been long enough since you started refusing to go that you'd forget where it was." Her tone was sarcastic enough to make him wince slightly.

He remained silent after that, until she pulled into the driveway of a pretty blue and tan house. She switched off the engine and climbed out, reaching back into to grab a foil-covered pan that smelled like peach cobbler before heading up to the door. He followed and then stood as she knocked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Be nice." She told him while they waited.

Oh, hell. They were going to go see Scott or something, weren't they? Scott was the only person that Logan could think of where Cassandra would have to warn him to be nice. And judging by the dish that Cassandra was holding and the fact that he was wearing black slacks and a nice blue button-up dress shirt, they'd probably have to sit through a whole dinner with him. Fuck that.

The door knob turned, then, and Logan braced himself for an hour or so of really dull conversation. When the door opened, though, Logan saw Kurt standing there. He was wearing khaki pants and a red dress shirt, although his feet were bare. His tail was twitching slowly behind him, and his yellow eyes were slightly downcast. Or, actually, his eye was downcast, since he only had one. A large scar was where his left eye should have been.

Logan blinked, first surprised, then suspicious. Kurt was the closest thing Logan had to a best friend; there was no way Cassandra's warning was for the elf. Which meant there had to be someone else coming to this little dinner party. Logan was still betting on Scott.

"Hello, Cassandra." Kurt greeted.

"Hey Kurt." Cassandra replied, throwing her arms around him to give him a tight hug.

He hugged her back, then turned towards Logan. "Thank you for coming, Logan." He said quietly.

Logan grinned at him. "No problem, elf. You wanna let us in before this cobbler over here gets cold?"

Kurt's eye widened slightly and his gaze darted briefly at Cassandra before he nodded. "Yes, of course. Come on in."

He held the door open while they walked inside, then closed it behind them. Kurt and Cassandra started walking down the front hall, but Logan lingered. There were framed pictures lining one of the walls. Most of them showed some combination of Samantha, Cassandra, Rachel, Zephyr, Anorra, Rogue, Bobby, Warren, Kurt, Piotr, Gambit, and Logan himself doing mundane things like having a picnic, riding horses, going to the beach, at some amusement park, or just hanging out. It was strange looking at them, because Logan couldn't actually remember doing any of them. The one that caught his attention, though, was a picture of him and Cassandra. She was in a wedding dress, holding a bouquet, and he was standing next to her in a tuxedo, his arm around her shoulders.

Logan glanced down at his left hand and, sure enough, there was a wide gold band around his ring finger. He looked back up at the wall and picked out other wedding pictures; Warren and Zephyr, Anorra and Piotr, Rogue and Gambit, Bobby and Rachel, and finally Samantha and Kurt. Logan looked at that last one for a moment, then quickly scanned the other photos. Kurt had two eyes in all of them, which was odd. Whatever had made him lose it couldn't have happened recently, since the scar over his eye was quite obviously an old one.

"Logan, come on." Cassandra called, her voice impatient.

Logan started towards her, casting one last look at his wedding photo. This whole alternate dimension thing was really weird. If Logan hadn't been so sure this was real, he would have believed that he was just hallucinating this whole thing. Even Jean. It made more sense to him than the fact that there were a whole bunch of other Logans out there doing things that he had no knowledge of. Like getting married, or having to watch everything fall apart around them.

He paused. Had that happened? Was Warren still alive back home? Logan decided he had to be. The weird feeling Logan had been having started just before the kid's death, so that must have been when everything shifted. Warren had to be alive. Whether Logan wanted it or not, the kid was family. A family that he wanted to get back to.

Logan started moving again, following Kurt and Cassandra into the kitchen and adjoining dining room. There were two tables there, one big enough to hold at least twenty people, and the other a smaller one that looked like it would seat about six. The smaller table was set for four, with nice black china and silver wine glasses.

"You're right on time." Kurt told them. "The pasta is almost done. There are breadsticks, in the meantime." He gestured to a basket of steaming cheese breadsticks that rested on the island in the kitchen.

The three of them made small talk over the breadsticks for awhile until Logan glanced over his shoulder at the fourth place setting and asked, "So who's joining us tonight?"

Cassandra looked away and Kurt found something very interesting to stare at on the floor.

"The other plate is for Sammie." Kurt said softly.

"Oh. Okay." Logan said, puzzled by their reaction.

They talked for awhile, long enough for Logan to start being concerned at the way the fuzzy elf kept wincing every time Logan opened his mouth to say something. As if Logan was going to say something completely horrible to him.

Finally, Logan asked, "Hey, elf, you feeling okay?"

Kurt looked startled, then nodded. "I'm fine, Logan. I'll be fine."

The answer had an automatic quality to it, as if it was one that he had repeated many times.

Logan glanced over at Cassandra, who gave him a bit of a sad smile before saying, "So how's that pasta coming along, Kurt?"

Kurt gave a bright smile that Logan could only barely tell was false. "Thank you for reminding me, Cass, I probably would have let it burn."

He busied himself in the kitchen for a moment, then ushered both of them to the table. He spooned some kind of pasta onto three plates and waited for them to sit down before setting the past bowl in the middle of the table and sitting down himself.

After a moment of silent eating, Logan asked, "When's Sam getting here?"

Kurt's fork dropped onto his plate with a clatter, and Cassandra stared at Logan in horror. Before Logan could say anything, Cassandra grabbed his wrist and dragged him off into another room.

"How dare you." Cassandra hissed at him. "I actually thought you were coming to your senses, and then you go and do _that_. How much longer are you going to keep hurting him, Logan?"

"Cass." Logan said slowly, starting to understand what was going on. "Where's Sam?"

"She's dead, Logan, and you fucking know it." Cassandra told him. "So whatever this new game you're playing to torment Kurt is, just stop it right now."

Logan winced. What kind of person was he here? "Whatever you think I'm doing, I'm not. I wouldn't try to hurt Kurt like that. I didn't know Sam was dead."

Cassandra snorted. "Logan, I love you, but I'm not stupid. That's just ridiculous."

"Yeah." Logan agreed. "This whole fucking thing is ridiculous. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not your Logan, I'm from another dimension. I don't remember Sam dying, I don't remember Kurt losing his eye, or why I'm supposedly all mad at him. I don't even remember marrying you. Because I didn't do any of those things."

Cassandra stopped and stared at him, standing up on tip-toe to look him in the eyes. "You're serious, aren't you?" She stepped back, shaking her head. "Hell. Well, of all the things we've been through, I guess other dimensions isn't really surprising." She paused for a moment, then asked, "So where's my Logan?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "He'll probably come back when I leave, though."

"When's that?" She asked.

He gave a shrug. "I'm not sure."

Cassandra drew in a shaky breath, then nodded. "Kay. Any chance you could talk to him during this little exchange thing, maybe convince him of the whole not hurting Kurt thing?"

"I don't think it works like that." Logan replied. "What happened, Cass?"

She ran her fingers through her hair. "It's been almost two years, and I still don't like talking about it. Which is kind of silly, but…It was the fight." She paused, then continued as if realizing that he wouldn't understand what that meant, "The fight to end all fights. That's what they called it in the papers, anyway. After we won, and people were still able to publish papers, that is. Yeah, we won. And it was a great victory. I mean, look outside. You don't see riots, or fighting, or any anti-anything. We live in a great world. I just wish we were all still alive to see it.

"I don't know…Exactly what happened. The only person who really knows that is Kurt. And, well…We've never asked him. I don't think I ever will, really. He never wants to talk about it. He's only just now gotten to the point where he can talk about her. And I understand, too. I mean, if it had been you….Well, I'd probably be in worse shape than him." She shook her head. "But, anyway. That night's kind of a blur. Probably best that way, since I don't really want to remember what I did. Or what anyone else did. We were in teams. Of two and three, mostly. I was with you. I'm always with you.

"Kurt was with…" Her voice wavered. "He was with Sam and Rogue. God, it's still hard to say their names. Kurt was supposed to get them in, then Rogue was going to take him out, and Sam would protect Rogue and Kurt until it was done. Then Kurt was going to get them out of there. Whatever happened, whatever they did, it worked. We won. But Sam and Rogue…They didn't make it. When Kurt came out, he was alone. You always blamed him, for leaving them behind. Or, well, my Logan did. And still does, I guess. Rogue and Sam, they were the closet things Logan had to sisters.

"But that doesn't excuse his behavior. Kurt blames himself enough without Logan to do it for him. And it hurts even more, since they used to be best friends. I've tried to talk to him, but he just won't listen to me. It's ridiculous, but he's my husband, so there's not much…" She paused. "You said you don't remember our wedding day. We're not married in your world?"

Logan shook his head. "No. We've only know each other for a little over a month."

"Oh. We…." Cassandra started, but then her voice faded as, once again, a roaring filled Logan's ears before everything went dark.

* * *

When the blackness faded this time, Logan found himself standing in the grass. In front of him he could see a stadium of mainly college students, most of them standing and cheering. It was nighttime, so the stadium lights were shining brightly. He glanced up at them, and suddenly saw a young woman falling nearly on top of him. Logan quickly shifted his weight, holding his arms out in front of him. He caught her easily, making sure she had her balance before letting her slide to the ground.

She turned to look at him, blue-ish green eyes peering out from the strands of strawberry-blonde hair that had come loose from her pony-tail. "You okay, Logan?"

"Just fine, darlin'." Logan replied, hoping she'd leave him alone long enough for him to figure out where the hell he was.

Fortunately, she nodded at him and went to join a group of young women. All of them were wearing skimpy red and white cheerleader uniforms that looked to be little more than sports bras and skirts that barely covered their butts. A sudden feeling of horror filled him and he glanced at his outfit. Just as he suspected, he was wearing tight spandex pants and a sweatshirt in the same colors.

"Fucking hell." Logan muttered under his breath.

He took a closer look at the group of cheerleaders and spotted Cassandra, Rogue, and Zephyr. Or at least it looked like Zephyr, even though her hair was just blue, and very obviously dyed. They were gathered closely around Rachel, who was leading them and the rest of the cheerleaders in a cheer.

"Much better view than the game, right mon ami?" Gambit asked, coming to stand by his side.

The Cajun was dressed in an outfit just like Logan's, and part of Logan was relieved that there was another guy here that he knew. Of course, there were people that Logan would rather it be than Gambit.

A huge cheer sounded from the crowd and Logan looked out onto the field. The players in red and white were ecstatic, clapping each other on the back and hugging. The other players, wearing yellow and blue, were walking dejectedly off of the field. Some of the cheerleaders started doing backflips, and others began chanting for the knights, which Logan assumed was the mascot for the team.

Logan sure as fucking hell hoped he wasn't going to have to spend too much time here. His body felt lighter, and he had a feeling that if he tried to extend his claws, they would be there. His senses were duller, too, since he couldn't even pick anyone's scent out of the mess of smells in the stadium. He felt human.

"Logan!" Cassandra called, jumping up to throw her arms around him. "We won!" She beamed up at him, and he noticed her eyes were blue, not purple.

"Yeah, we sure did, darlin'." Logan said, trying to sound as excited as she did.

Logan didn't feel anything coming from anyone he recognized. He didn't know what this problem thing was supposed to feel like, but since he didn't feel anything strange, he was assuming it wasn't there. Which meant he had to go looking for more people.

Cassandra looped her arm through his, and they were joined by Zephyr and Rogue. Logan took a closer look at Rogue, and realized her white streak was missing. She looked like she did when he first met her.

"Excellent work, chere." Gambit told Rogue, sweeping her up into a kiss.

Logan waited, but nothing happened. It looked like he wasn't the only one who was human now. Maybe mutants didn't even exist here. Rachel hadn't joined them yet, though, so Logan looked around for her. He spotted her a few feet away, talking to the girl who he had caught earlier. He could just barely hear them, if he listened close enough.

"…unacceptable, Kaliah." Rachel was saying. "You don't mess up like that on game night."

"Everyone messes up some times, Rachel." Kaliah protested.

"Not like you." Rachel replied. "You've screwed up nearly every routine we've done since we let you on this time. We are the best, we can't have you on here bringing us down."

"But.." Kaliah started.

"Now, some people thought I shouldn't even let you on. But I'm a nice person, I gave you a shot." Rachel said. "It's just too bad that you weren't good enough to make it worth my time. I'm a little embarrassed, actually, since I'll have to go tell everyone they were right. That's the burden of being the one in charge. But it's a small price to pay for getting rid of a screw-up like you." She gave Kaliah a sweet smile, then flipped her hair. Rachel started to walk away, then paused and glanced back. "Oh…you can keep the cheer uniform. Burn it, throw it away, whatever. We won't be needing it. After all, it's touched your skin. Who knows how much of you has rubbed off on it?"

Kaliah stared at her, then turned and fled.

Rachel beamed and joined them, tossing one arm over Cassandra's shoulders. "Hey guys! Wasn't that an awesome game?" She asked, sounding exactly like the Rachel that Logan knew.

"Here come our players." Zephyr said, grinning widely.

Five football players were heading their way, joking and laughing with each other as they walked. The players stopped when they reached the group, tugging off their helmets. Logan recognized Bobby, although his hair was a bit longer and curly, Piotr, Warren, who looked incredibly odd with no wings, and Samantha, with brown eyes. The last guy had black hair and hazel eyes. He looked familiar, although Logan couldn't place him.

Rachel grabbed Bobby's jersey and pulled him down to her level, pressing her lips against hers. He wrapped his arm around her and they kissed for a minute of so before breaking apart.

"Way to go, captain." Rachel told him with a grin.

"Yeah, great game, guys." Rogue agreed.

"Thanks." Bobby said, grinning at them all.

"What do you expect with our star quarterback here?" Samantha asked, standing up on tip-toe to ruffle Bobby's hair. "We haven't lost since he joined the team."

"We haven't lost since we all joined, Sam." Bobby said, his grin widening.

"Yeah, Sammie, don't give Mister All American all the credit." Piotr teased.

Samantha laughed, looking pleased. "Okay, we're all pretty damn good."

"Thirty-one to three? Hell yeah, we're good. We kicked their asses." Warren commented, pumping his fist in the air and grabbing Zephyr, kissing her firmly.

"Well, if everyone else is doing it." The unknown guy said in Kurt's voice, pulling Samantha close and kissing her.

Logan had a moment to be startled at seeing Kurt without the blue before he found himself being pulled into kissing Cassandra. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw first Bobby and Rachel, then Rogue and Gambit join in the kissing while Piotr stood there and looked amused.

"Piotr!" Anorra called suddenly, and Cassandra pulled away from Logan.

A small human woman, blonde and blue-eyed, ran up to them. "The rest of the color guard kept trying to get me to go have dinner with them."

"And, of course, you told them that you were going with us." Piotr said, draping his arm over her shoulder.

Anorra beamed up at him. "Of course. Like I'd go anywhere without you, Piotr. Are you thirsty? I brought you water."

She held out a bottle of water to him and he took it, downing it without so much as a thank you. Anorra looked happy, though, as if pleased with the fact that Piotr was drinking her water.

"Liked the way you handled that six foot pole, Norra." Rachel commented.

"She must get lots of practice to be that good." Cassandra agreed, winking at Anorra.

Anorra shoved her playfully. "Shut up."

"Hey, you can't get mad at her for being right." Piotr said, sweeping Anorra into his arms and planting a kiss on her lips.

A couple of female students came up to them, then, and Warren turned to talk with them. Or, more accurately, flirt with them. Shamelessly. They giggled and flirted back, giving him a sharpie and lifting up their shirts so he could sign their bras. He even kissed one of them on the cheek before she left. Everyone else ignored this, but Logan could see the hurt flash briefly across Zephyr's face before she covered it up with a bright smile.

"So, Denny's, yes?" Zephyr asked. "Who's driving today?"

"Not us." Bobby said, tightening his arm around Rachel's waist.

"Yeah, we're going to be distracted with other things." Rachel agreed.

"I'll drive." Samantha offered. "My car'll fit us all."

She led the way to a red and white Volkswagen bus and hopped into the driver's seat. Kurt jumped in the front, resting his hand on Samantha's thigh. Bobby and Rachel claimed the way back seat and began making out almost as soon as they sat down. Piotr sat down in the next seat up and grabbed Anorra, pulling her into his lap. Zephyr and Warren sat next to them. Gambit sat in the next with Rogue in his lap, and Cassandra slid in next to them. Logan joined her and slammed the door behind them.

Samantha took off, driving like a manic. She honked the horn every time she passed a car of people they apparently knew, and much shouting sounded from both cars. Finally, she served into a Denny's parking lot and slammed on the brakes. "And we're here!"

They all clambered out of the car and into the Denny's, where they made a bee-line for a large both in the back. A waitress came to take their order, and Warren flirted with her for a few minutes before telling her they needed more time.

Everyone scanned their menus, except for Anorra, who was curled up against Piotr, and Rachel and Bobby, who were too busy kissing. After awhile, the waitress came back, and Warren flirted with her again. This time, he did it for much longer, until Logan finally cleared his throat and said he'd like to order some time this century. Logan didn't like seeing that "I'm fine, really" look on Zephyr's face. Everyone ordered for themselves, except for Anorra. Piotr ordered for her without even asking what she wanted, and she beamed at him like that was the best thing in the world.

They chatted for awhile, and things almost seemed normal, except for Bobby and Rachel making out in the corner of their booth. Then the waitress came back again with their drinks, and Warren picked up the flirting.

"Anorra, there is no cream on this table." Piotr commented.

Anorra jumped up. "I'll go get you some, sweetie." She darted off, stealing a container of cream from another table and bringing it back. She poured it in Piotr's coffee while he talked with Gambit, then set the container down and went back to snuggling against him.

One of Logan's eyes started twitching. This world was fucked up as hell. Logan didn't even care that none of these people seemed to be the key to his returning home, he just wanted to get out of here. There was no fucking way the next dimension would be as bad as this. Fortunately, just as the waitress returned with their food, Logan's vision began to fade a bit. And this time, he was actually relieved as the world went black.


	25. Taco Bell!

"Cass…." Samantha commented, leaning in the doorway of Cassandra's room. "I'm hungry…."

Cassandra looked up from her computer. "You want to drive to McDonald's?"

"Yay!" Samantha agreed. "We can get more Monopoly pieces!"

"And win a million dollars!" Cassandra said.

"I'll go put shoes on!" Samantha walked off and returned a few moments later, then the two women headed out.

"Which car do you wanna take?" Samantha asked when they got to the garage.

"Mine!!" Cassandra announced. Cassandra didn't really have a car there. But there was one she usually drove, and since Cassandra hadn't slept in about a week she didn't understand the difference. Okay, well, actually she wouldn't have cared about the difference anyway, but now it was even worse.

"Okay!!" Samantha agreed. Samantha also hadn't slept in a few days. And when the two of them were together they tended to feed off of each other's energy. Which was very very bad. And that was generally why people didn't leave them alone. But apparently for some reason they were now alone. I dunno why. Probably because it was just after midnight. But that's no excuse.

But anyway. They were driving to McDonald's! And then they got there!

"Where are you going?' Samantha asked.

"Drive thru!" Cassandra said.

"But we don't know if it's open!" Samantha protested. "We should check the hours."

So Cassandra made a U-ie. And they drove by the hour sign. And they found out that McDonald's closed at eleven! Which was bad. Because now they got no food!

"It's closed!" Cassandra said. "You said it was open till three!"

"Something's open till three." Samantha said.

"Taco Bell?" Cassandra offered.

"Taco Bell!!!" Samantha agreed.

So they headed off to Taco Bell. And Cassandra was going swervey swervey because there was really no one on the streets. Except the random people on the sidewalks who probably thought that they were drunk. But they weren't so that just shows what those stupid people know.

And then Cassandra took a corner a little too fast and Samantha went slamming against the wall. Fortunately the seatbelt stopped her, but unfortunately the seatbelt happened to be at her neck.

"Ow." Samantha complained. "What was that?"

"I swerved!" Cassandra announced happily.

"Which is fun." Samantha said. "Except when the seatbelt chokes me!"

"I swerve good! I swerve again!" Cassandra swerved again.

This time the seatbelt didn't work and Samantha smacked into Cassandra.

"Ow!" Samantha said again. "Your seatbelt didn't work! It's malfunctional! You have a malfunctioning seatbelt!"

For some reason that was really funny. And so Cassandra and Samantha laughed for about ten minutes. And injured their spleens. A lot. And then they were still laughing when they reached a red light. And just kept going.

"I ran a red light!" Cassandra commented after they had driven away.

"Yay!" Samantha agreed, then paused. "Where's Taco Bell?"

"I dunno!!!!" Cassandra announced cheerfully.

"Keep driving until you see a sign!" Samantha suggested.

"Oh, look, the free way." Cassandra said. "They have signs there!"

* * *

"Hey, has anyone seen Cass? Or Sam?" Logan asked, walking into the recreation room where Bobby and Gambit were playing video games.

"Nope." Bobby said. "Haha, you're dead!"

"Shit." Gambit muttered. "Why does Gambit always die?"

"Because you suck at this game?" Bobby suggested.

"It's four in the morning, and they're not in their beds." Logan said, ignoring their conversation. "Actually, they're not anywhere."

_Logan, stop being paranoid._ The professor said, randomly chiming in. Just to fuck with his head. _Their car is gone. They're off joy riding somewhere. They'll be back. Now I'm going to go to my dance lesson. So please refrain from contacting me in the next couple of hours. _

"Have you tried their cell phones?" Bobby asked.

Logan looked at him blankly, so Gambit pulled out his cell phone and called Samantha. The phone rang for a moment, then someone picked up.

"Taco Bell, Taco Bell, all for me, Taco Bell." Samantha sang, with Cassandra singing along in the background.

"Where are you guys?" Gambit asked.

"Taco Bell!!" Samantha told him.

"Dat's nice. Did you get food for de rest o' us?" Gambit asked. "Or, more importantly, did you get food for Gambit?"

"It'd be cold by then!" Cassandra yelled towards the phone.

"Only Taco Bell for us!" Samantha agreed. "We special! But you can have a bite of ze taco."

"What Taco Bell are they at?" Logan asked. He could totally hear them yelling about Taco Bell. Actually, people in Australia could probably here them yelling about Taco Bell. Fucking kangaroos.

"Taco Bell where?" Gambit asked.

There was a pause.

"Taco Bell land?" Samantha offered.

"We were on the free way!!!" Cassandra announced. "They have signs there. That's where signs come from."

"How long has it been since Cass and Sam slept?" Bobby asked.

There was more silence.

"Do you guys know how to get home?" Gambit asked.

"We follow ze signs!!!!!!" Cassandra said.

"Ze signs will show us the way, Gambit! Ze signs have spoken!" Samantha said. "Look! There's a sign that says Westchester 40 miles!"

"I like 40." Cassandra said.

"It's a good number to have." Samantha agreed, then asked, "You wanna park randomly or go back to my place?"

"Your place!" Cassandra commented.

"Is Gambit invited?" Gambit asked.

Logan shot him a look. One that said I kill you now bitch so shut up or die a horrible painful death by claws and pinching. Maybe little pinch. Maybe lot of pinch.

Gambit shut up.

"Bye guys!!!" Samantha said, then hung up.

* * *

Some time later, Cassandra and Samantha finally returned. With Taco Bell! Which was, unsurprisingly, cold. Since they had waited to eat it until they got back. But apparently they didn't think of that. Well, they thought about it and didn't bring Gambit back any food because it would be cold but didn't consider that their food would be cold. Because they were special!

But they ate it anyway. Because Taco Bell was yummy and good and filled with goodness. And Samantha got Mountain Dew which wasn't a good idea but she got it anyway.

Cassandra opened her quesadilla and pouted. "They didn't cut my food. Looooogaaaaan? Cut my taco?"

Logan stared at her. She beamed at him then passed out on the floor.

"Cass! Your food!" Samantha said, then paused. "My food! Taco Bell, Taco Bell, all for me!" She sang.

Logan picked up Cassandra and started taking her to her bed. But she woke up!!!

"Where's my Taco Bell?" Cassandra asked, looking around. "Sam has my Taco Bell!"

She jumped out of Logan's arms and started chasing Samantha around the room. Logan shook his head, then started running after both of them. Gambit and Bobby watched this for a few minutes, then Bobby started humming the happy traditional chasing music that is shown on every funfun TV show.

"Na na na na na nanana na na." Bobby commented.

And that is what happened. Yay.

The end.

* * *

**Author's Note: **TTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCOOOOOOO BBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! 


	26. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: **Yay! Finally, a chapter of chapter-ness! My writer's block is gone! Hopefully it's gone for good, yay! This alternate dimension thing should only last for another chapter or two…Depending on how many scenes that I thought of I actually end up writing. I'm leaning towards ending this soon-ish because Kaliah needs to be in the story. I want glowy goodness!! And yay for pizza and making Megan call! Hahaha, Megan does all the talking and reading and anything that involves using a voice of voiceness. Okay, this author's note is done. Doooooooooooooone! Heehehehehehehe. Yeah it's really done now. Really.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

A horn blaring and screeching tires snapped Logan out of his latest bout of blackness, and his hands instinctively tightened on the steering wheel as he turned out of the path of the headlights speeding towards him. He pulled off to the side of the road as the driver of the other car shouted something and tore off. These fucking dimension jumps were going to get him killed. He paused, then, thinking of something. What happened if he died in another dimension? Was it the Logan in this dimension who died, or himself? Would he disappear, or just go back to his own body?

For a moment, he was tempted to try it and see what happened, but then he decided against it. It may have been an easy way out, but Jean had told him there was only one way out. He trusted her. And, besides, killing himself would be a hell of a cowardly way to end it all.

He sat back in the driver's seat of the car, then reached up to turn on the overhead lead. It was night time, and although he had excellent night vision, he wanted the extra light to see where the hell he was this time. He was in a really nice car. In fact, the name on the steering wheel told him it was a Ferrari. His wallet was sitting next to him in the passenger seat, so he picked it up and glanced through it. He saw a driver's license, proclaiming his name to be Logan Blake, along with a bunch of credit cards and a large wad of cash.

Well that was pretty nice. Logan could get used to that. Especially since he was still wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, so he didn't have to put up with the clothes that rich people normally wore. Was he still working with Charles in this dimension, or did he somehow manage to get all this money on his own? A further search of the car produced nothing. The car was almost obsessively clean.

He gave a sigh and started up the car again, pulling out onto the street again. There was an address on his driver's license, he would just go there. Hopefully there would be someone there that he'd recognize. Of course, he'd have to figure out where he was first. He drove slowly, his eyes scanning the side of the road. There were street lamps, but so far he hadn't seen a street sign. Then, he saw a group of young men gathered under one of the street lamps. A flash of white caught his eye and he slowed down even more, taking a closer look. He confirmed that the white he saw was indeed wings sprouting from the back of a young blonde man, and Logan stopped the car.

Another young man came up to the car and, after Logan rolled down the passenger window, leaned inside.

"You looking for someone, hon?" The young man asked.

That set off Logan's suspicions, but he did need to find his friends to get out of here, so he nodded. "Yeah. Kid with the wings over there."

The young man nodded, then leaned away from the car and called, "Yo, Angel! You got a customer!"

Ah, fuck. Looks like Logan had been right. Well, this would be interesting. Hopefully all those movies were right, and Logan would be able to convince Warren to just talk with him as long as he paid him for his time. Although Logan wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to the kid.

"You want Demon, too?" The man asked.

"Demon?" Logan repeated.

"Yeah. Looks like a blue demon. Most people want 'em as a matching set." The man grinned. "You know, the whole angel/demon spiel."

There was only one person that looked like that. Kurt. "Yeah, sure. Him too." Logan said.

"You bet." The man said, then walked off, yelling, "You, too, Demon!"

Logan waited for a moment, then the front door opened and Kurt slid into the passenger seat. Warren got in the back of the car and closed the door behind him, so Logan started driving off.

"Where're we headed, handsome?" Warren asked, leaning forward to put his arms on the edge of Logan and Kurt's seats and angling his upper body between the two seats.

Logan could already tell they weren't the ones he was looking for, but he still wanted to talk to them. Maybe they'd know someone else he needed to find. "A diner." He said. "I want to buy you guys dinner."

Kurt and Warren exchanged glances.

"We're already going to sleep with you, hon, you don't need to wine and dine us." Kurt said with a grin.

Logan winced slightly. Okay, he had to do something about this. "I just want to talk to you. Don't worry, I'll pay you for your time."

Warren sighed. "You're a social worker, aren't you? Or one of those save our soul types? Cause, honey, you're just wasting your time."

"No and no." Logan said. "Look, just let me get you something to eat and I'll explain."

Warren and Kurt looked at each other again, then Kurt shrugged. "Well, if you're paying us, who are we to complain?"

Logan reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet, pulling out all of the money inside. He didn't count it, but all of the bills looked like hundreds. It was probably a lot more than he'd ever held in his world. He offered the money to Kurt, who took it with a grin.

"No, we're definitely not complaining." Warren said, eyeing the money. "At least you're a rich social worker."

Logan shook his head and kept driving until he spotted a diner and pulled the car into the parking lot. The three of them headed inside the diner and sat down. Warren and Kurt looked over the menus while Logan debated exactly what he was going to tell them. Finally, after the waiter took their orders and left, Logan decided he should just tell them the truth.

So he explained everything, or at least much of everything as he understood. Then Logan sat back, waiting for their reactions.

Warren looked over at Kurt. "Kurt?"

Kurt reached out and placed his hand over Logan's arm, hovering an inch or two above his skin. After a moment Kurt withdrew his hand and nodded. "Well, he's definitely not from around here."

"What?" Logan asked.

"Kurt's our resident dimension expert." Warren said.

Kurt nodded. "I'm a teleportor. I jump through dimensions, I can tell when someone's from a different dimension." He paused. "I thought we were friends in your world?"

"We are." Logan replied. "But you only teleport there, as far as I know." He sighed and shook his head. "Look, you guys can just finish eating and head back. I already know you're not the ones I need to get out of here, so…" He trailed off as a segment of the news show that was playing on the diner television. Anorra's face was on the screen, looking solemn and sultry. The reporter was saying something about her retirement from the runway, and how she was now going to dedicate her time to training other people to make their dream come true, just like hers had.

"Who's that?" Logan asked, nodding at the television.

Kurt looked over. "Telepsa. She's a model. Or, was, I guess. Really famous. You really must not be from here if you don't know who she is."

"I need to find her." Logan said.

Warren and Kurt did the glancing thing again.

"She has a suite at the Blake." Kurt told him. "I can show you where it is."

"Yeah, me too." Warren said. "I'll go with you."

Logan stared at them for a moment. "You want to go with me? Why?"

Kurt grinned. "Curiosity killed the cat. Besides, you are paying us for the night."

"More than the night." Warren corrected. "And I'm totally game for going to visit the world's hottest model."

Logan considered that, then shrugged. As long as they were with him, they weren't doing…Other stuff. "Fine by me. Let's go."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him as the waiter came by with their food. "Would it kill you to wait until after dinner? You did pay for it, after all."

Logan stared at them for a moment, then sat back with a growl. As much as he wanted to get going, he wasn't going to deprive them of food. Especially not since it looked like they needed it. He hadn't ordered anything for himself except a beer, so he nursed it while the other two ate. Finally, after much too long for his liking, the other two were finished eating. Logan tossed the waiter one of his credit cards and waited impatiently until the waiter brought back something for him to sign. He did it quickly, then strode out without waiting for Kurt and Warren. They'd either follow him or they wouldn't.

They followed him. By the time he got to his car they had caught up. He slid into the driver's seat as they got in the car, then started it up and took off. Kurt gave him directions, and neither of them commented on Logan's rather reckless driving. He drove slower than he would have liked, mainly because he knew that while he would be able to walk away from a crash, Warren and Kurt wouldn't.

Before long, they were arrived at a huge building, at least eighty stories tall, and surrounded by beautiful landscapes. A tasteful sign on the side of the building proclaimed it to be the Blake Hotel. There was no parking lot, so Logan drove up to the entrance, where a valet rushed to meet him. He reluctantly handed his keys to the young woman, then ducked inside the hotel.

Logan paused for a moment to look around, then strode through the hotel lobby, oblivious to both the glances his clothes were getting and to Kurt and Warren's attempts to stop him. He didn't care about being polite at the moment, he just wanted to find whatever he needed to get home. "I need to speak with Telepsa." He commented matter-of-factly as he stopped in front of the hotel desk, glaring at the young man behind it.

The man's eyes widened. "Yes, Mr. Blake, of course. She's up in her in her suite on the top floor. Shall I call her to inform her of your arrival?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Logan said, moving away from the desk and starting towards the elevator.

"You're Logan Blake?" Warren asked, staring at him.

Logan paused, looking at him. "Something wrong with that?"

Kurt shook his head, amused. "You own this place. You own most places, actually. You're the one who funded Telepsa in her search for stardom."

"Than why didn't you recognize me?" Logan asked, moving forward again.

"No one knows what you look like." Kurt replied. "You keep your picture out of the papers."

Logan grunted, pleased that at least his counter part had the sense to want to stay out of the media. They reached the elevator and Logan pushed the button for the eightieth floor. They rode in silence, until the elevator reached its destination and Logan stepped out, the other two men following him. They walked down the hall to a large wooden door, carved with ornate decorations. To the left side of the door was a large glass window. Logan's gaze flicked over it for a moment, then he paused at what he saw. Samantha was sitting on a large red couch, dressed in a black leather halter top, cut off denim shorts, and black knee-high boots. Scott, dressed in a suit and his usual red shades, was sprawled out over the rest of the couch, lying on his back with his head in her lap. He was saying something, which Logan only caught the tail end of.

"…was a Lawrence, and then I just left." Scott commented.

Samantha's eyes lit with amusement and she burst into laughter. Scott grinned widely, a carefree and joyful smile that Logan had never seen him give before. It was kind of creepy. Make that really creepy. Especially since it was directed towards Samantha.

"And they say you guys have no sense of humor." Samantha commented, leaning down to place a tender kiss on Scott's lips.

And now Logan needed a room to go throw up in. Preferably Scott's, so he could damage some of one-eyes' shit in the process. It was either that or go beat the shit out of Cyke. Actually, that second idea was sounding really good right now.

"Logan?" Kurt asked, looking worried. "Are you okay?"

Before Logan could respond, Samantha tensed, her easy and relaxed manner dropping.

"What's wrong, baby?" Scott asked, sitting up.

"There's someone here." Samantha replied, sliding off the couch and dropping into a guarded stance in a single, fluid movement. Her eyes had changed, becoming wild and fierce.

Scott stood up, his body stiffening as he placed one hand in his pocket. "Someone's here, Telepsa!" He called.

"Then answer the door, for Pete's sake." Anorra's voice called from another room.

"Do you know who it is?" Scott asked, his voice now curt and holding none of the warmth it had earlier.

"One of them is Mr. Blake." Samantha replied. "The other two are mutants. A demon and an angel."

Scott considered, the nodded. "All right. If they're with Mr. Blake, then let them in."

Samantha moved over to the door, wariness still seeping from her body. She was putting out such strong "don't fuck with me" vibes that Logan found the animalistic part of himself wanting to meet her challenge. Instead, though, he knocked at the door and waited until it opened.

"Mister Blake." Samantha greeted, looking at him through narrow eyes. Her gaze swept over to Kurt and Warren, and her suspicion deepened.

Warren shrank away, casting his own eyes downward. Kurt, though, met her gaze, holding her wild eyes with his own. They remained that way for a long moment, until Kurt's gold eyes finally darted to another location for a brief moment before coming back to rest on Samantha's. Logan rolled his eyes and shoved past Samantha and into the room. Samantha held the door open only long enough to Kurt and Warren to dart in before closing it shut.

"Logan." Anorra said, finally appearing in the room. She looked beautiful, wearing an Egyptian style dress studded with jewels that probably cost more than the Xavier mansion. "It's nice to see you again." As she passed Samantha, who was prowling nervously and keeping an eye on the group, Anorra commented, "Down girl." The tone might have been playful, save for the fact that Logan caught the warning in Anorra's eyes as she tossed them in Samantha's direction.

Samantha didn't say anything, but she did stalk back towards the couch and jump up on it. She perched on the back of the couch in a very feline manner, inching closer to the side of the couch that Scott was standing next to, his back straight and apparently staring straight ahead. Then she stood still, except for an occasional twitch of her hand or foot, her eyes never leaving the three men.

Anorra looked over Kurt and Warren for a moment, then she smiled. "Is this who you have found for me?"

Logan was still glaring over at Scott, too distracted to reply to her comment. Anorra followed his gaze, and must have interpreted his expression to mean that he wanted to be alone, because she threaded her arm through his and pulled them into another room. There were glass windows in this one, too, so that he could still see the others if he glanced behind him. With Anorra gone, Samantha jumped off the couch and circled Kurt and Warren for a long moment. She must have been satisfied with what she saw, as she offered a fanged smile before returning to Scott's side.

"So is that them?" Anorra asked, drawing his attention away from the window. "You did say you were going to find the perfect people to be the first ones I mentor." She glanced through the window to scrutinize Kurt and Warren before turning back to him with a smile. "And you're right, they are perfect. Exotic, just like me." She reached up with on hand to flip her long silver and purple hair over her shoulder. "But, of course, not better than me. Certainly not better looking. And male! Perfect. Now there's no chance of them upstaging me. They'll be in a completely different circuit."

Logan just stared at her, entirely unsure of what to make of this. Seeing all of his friends like this, so different from how he knew them, was unsettling. Even for those he didn't know very well, like Anorra. He knew her well enough to know that this wasn't her. Besides, there was something about Anorra that was bugging him, rubbing him the wrong way. Something that didn't seem quite right.

Then it hit him. This was what Jean was talking about when she said he'd know who it was that could get him out of here. It was Anorra that was the key. At least here, anyway. Now what was he supposed to do? Was that it? Could he go home now? Or did he have to do something more, something Jean had never gotten the chance to tell him?

"Logan?" Anorra asked, looking at him curiously. "Are you okay? You're not going into one of your black-outs, are you? Oh, dear. We better take care of everything quickly, then, before you forget it all."

She turned on her heel and marched out into the other room. All eyes turned towards her, and she smiled.

"Welcome to the team, boys." She told Kurt and Warren. "I've talked it over with Logan and he believes, just as I do, that you two would be perfect as my first trainees. I'm so thrilled to be able to share this experience with you!" She beamed at the two of them, who exchanged wide-eyed glances. "I'll go grab the paperwork so we can get started."

Just as Logan caught up with her, she left again, disappearing into whatever room she had originally come from.

Scott smiled and slipped an arm around Samantha's waist. "Looks like we have two more people to protect now, baby."

Samantha grinned at him, then stood up on tip-toe to plant a kiss on his lips. "We're more than up to the task."

Kurt looked at the two of them, then came up to Logan. "What the hell?"

"I have no idea." Logan replied. "I went in there and she started spouting off about how I was supposed to bring people for her to train or something. I think she wants to make you models."

Kurt raised an eyebrow while Warren, who had come over as well, widened his eyes in shock.

"Us?" Warren asked. "Models?"

Logan shrugged. He rather liked the idea, actually. At least this meant Kurt and Warren wouldn't be doing….what they were doing before. Right now, he was too busy trying figure out what the hell he was supposed to do with Anorra. How she was supposed to help him get back home. He started towards the door he had gone into, but before he could reach it she emerged again.

"Got it." Anorra commented, holding up a small stack of papers and a pen. "Now all we have to do is sign it."

She moved over to the table and set the papers down, then offered Logan the pen. He considered for a moment, then took it. The sooner he signed these things, the sooner he could find out what Anorra knew. And then he could get away from a world where Scott had his arm around Samantha's waist and she had her hand tucked into the back of his pants.

Anorra turned on Warren and Kurt, then, who glanced at each other. Finally, Kurt shrugged.

"Hell, why not?" Kurt asked, scanning the papers before signing them.

Warren took the pen after him, signing as well. Anorra snatched them up and beamed. "Okay. Now…"

Logan didn't hear the rest of what she was saying, because the world began to do its now familiar fading. He just hoped that finding the key was enough, and that when he woke up it would be in his own world.

* * *

When Logan woke up, he could hear the faint beeping of a heart monitor amongst the murmuring of excited voices. Chairs scraped and the sound of footsteps followed by a door opening and closing hit his ears as he struggled to open his eyes. When he did, his vision was fuzzy, but he could see enough to recognize the medical area of the Xavier Institute. He was home, then. He never thought he'd be so happy to be in here.

He heard someone calling his name, and then Rogue's face appeared over his. He tried to smile at her, but it probably only came out as a grimace. Logan waited until his vision cleared, then he asked, "How long have I been out?"

"Four days." Rogue replied, relief obvious in her voice. "The Professor and Dr. McCoy said you'd be fine, but we were still worried. Do you remember what happened?"

Logan shook his head, pleased to see that the movement didn't cause any pain. "No."

Rogue nodded. "They said you probably wouldn't. Some of the Brotherhood members attacked us."

Briefly, Logan remembered the events that had happened right before Jean had appeared to explain what was going on. "Is everyone okay?"

Rogue smiled. "We're all fine. I got hurt pretty bad, though. Dr. McCoy said he wasn't sure if I was gonna make it, so you…you gave me your powers." She bit her lower lip. "I guess you must have forgot what happened last time you did that."

"I didn't forgot, Rogue, I just thought it was worth it." Logan said. He didn't remember what she was talking about, but he knew that had been his reasoning. It was how he felt right now.

Her smile came back, and she reached out with a gloved hand to brush a few strands of his hair out of his eyes. "You would think that." She told him affectionately. "Guess it's a good thing we keep you around, then."

Logan chuckled and was about to respond when Rachel and Piotr burst into the room.

"See, I told you he was awake." Rachel said, then turned to Logan and Rogue. "Dr. McCoy's on his way down to look you over."

Logan rolled his eyes and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I'm fine."

"Sure." Rogue commented. "Unconscious for four days, but you're perfectly fine."

"Rogue is right, comrade." Piotr said. "You should allow Dr. McCoy to look you over. If for no other reason than to put all of our fears to rest."

"What he said, except with more slang and less proper grammar." Rachel agreed.

Logan growled and stood up. "He better hurry his ass up, then." As much as he didn't want to admit it, Logan was a little hurt that Cassandra wasn't there when he woke up. Part of him wanted to ask about her, but he managed to make that part shut up.

The door opened, then, but instead of Hank, Samantha and Anorra walked into the room.

"Logan." Samantha said, smiling at him.

"Good to see you awake and standing." Anorra told him before grinning over at Rachel and Piotr. "See, hon, I told you he'd be fine."

Logan blinked, wondering how Piotr and Anorra had moved from shy smiles to calling each other hon before he remembered he had been unconscious for four days. Still, though, a part of him was suspicious….And those suspicions were confirmed when, instead of Piotr, Anorra moved over to Rachel, slipped her arms over the other girl's shoulders, and gave her a loving kiss. Piotr went to Samantha, wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up. Samantha giggled, then kissed him on the lips as he set her down again.

Oh, fuck. Logan still wasn't home.

"Guess everyone's really happy to see you're okay." Rogue said to him. "Either that or they're just taking advantage of the situation to be mushy." Her tone was light and amused, but Logan could still hear the relief in her voice.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. What the hell had he done wrong? He had found the key, what more was he supposed to do? _I could use some help here, Jeannie. _He thought, but wasn't surprised when he didn't get a response.

Hank had come in by then, but Logan was too distracted to give more than a half-hearted glare as the blue-furred mutant looked him over and pronounced him a healthy. A cheer went up through the room, and Rogue grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out of the room and upstairs into the mansion. Logan followed her, both because he wanted to be out of the medical area and because he really had no fucking clue what to do now.

There was a group of people gathered by the stairs. Logan didn't recognize all of them, but he did see all of his friends there. Plus one. To his utter surprise, Pyro was there, a look of concern on his face. His arm was around Bobby's shoulders, and Bobby's arm was locked onto his waist. Logan stopped cold, just staring at the two of them. They hadn't noticed him yet, and Pyro tilted his head to place a reassuring kiss on Bobby's shoulder.

Logan opened his mouth to say something, then couldn't find any words and closed it again.

"Logan!" Zephyr called, and he turned to see her releasing Gambit's hand and come barreling towards him.

She threw her arms around him in a huge hug, and before long everyone else was gathered around him was well. Before he could attempt to kill someone, though, Rogue was pushing everyone away, telling them to give him his space. Everyone backed off, but still insisted on celebrating by either hugging or kissing the person closest to them. Logan happened to look over in time to see Pyro frenching Bobby, and that sight was almost enough to make him black out again.

"Logan? Honey, are you okay?" Rogue asked, peering at him with concerned green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I…honey?" Logan repeated.

"We need to lie down for a bit, I think." Rogue said. "Come on, sugar, let's head up to our room."

Logan stared blankly at her. "Our room?" And about then was when the world went dark. This time, he wasn't entirely sure if it was the dimension hopping or just his reaction to this really, really fucked up world.


	27. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: **I can't believe how much I suck. This has taken me so freaking long. Sorry guys, I had serious writer's block and stuff I had to do and blarg. I'm pretty sure writer's block is over, though, since I know what I'm doing for the part I was struggling with next chapter. Soooo, yes! Here's an entirely Brotherhood chapter! Sorry if this is crap, but at least it's up, right? Anyway! On with the chapter! I'm so glad to be back in Eugene!!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Mouse pushed her wet hair out of her eyes and frowned at her reflection in the mirror. She was trying to decide whether or not she had enough time to blow dry her hair and put on make up before she had to go wake people up and attempt to drag them off somewhere to have fun. She and Charm had been up late the night before, discussing the rather spectacular defeat they had gone through yesterday afternoon, amongst other things. Mouse found it rather irritating that though they had just gone out for lunch and to show Nic some of New York, they had ended up fighting. If only those stupid X-men hadn't shown up, running off their mouths and pissing people off.

Now she understood what Pyro and Charm were talking about when they mentioned how annoying the X-men were. So self righteous, completely secure in their beliefs that they were right. It was silly. Anyone could see that the humans would never accept them, so why bother trying to force it? It was so much better to just sit back and have fun. That was the main reason Mouse was here. That, and she did want to make sure mutants wouldn't get tossed aside in the inevitable war. Magneto was totally right, with his subtle and not-so-subtle plans to make sure mutants got their proper place. If Mouse could help out with that, then she was so for it. As long as it didn't take up all of her time, that is. There were other important things to do.

Like right now! She and Charm had decided that people here were entirely too boring and needed to get out. So they were going shopping. Because shopping was fun! And because they had seen Nic's wardrobe last night, and damn, was it lacking. Nic so needed new clothes. So they were dragging her with them! And anyone else that they could convince to go without bodily harm. Well, without bodily harm towards Mouse and Charm, anyway.

Anyway. Back to the decision at hand. Blow dry or not blow dry? Mouse checked the time and decided not blow drying. Besides, she looked good with wet hair. It was short enough that she could just run her fingers through her hair, tousle it a bit and it'd be sexy as hell. She put on her make-up, then grinned at herself and kissed the mirror, giggling at the little lipstick marks that she left behind. With that, she flounced out of the bathroom and down the hallway.

She paused at Alex's room, rolling her eyes as she leaned in the doorway of the open door. "Hey, new boy."

He looked up, then grinned and responded, "Hey new girl."

Her eyes flicked over him, taking in the longish blonde hair falling into intelligent brown eyes, and the tanktop and ripped jeans that showed off dark tan skin and damn fine muscles. Hell, yeah. "We're going shopping." She announced. "You're coming with us."

Alex's grin widened. "Am I? All right, then." He rolled off his bed in a lazy, fluid motion and padded over to meet her. "Well? Let's go."

Mouse beamed at him. "I love how easy you are." She commented, stroking a finger along his jawline as she started down the hall.

He caught up to her and she thread her arm through his as they walked, gathering other people along. In the end, Mouse and Charm had gotten Alex, Pyro, Pietro, Toad, and Madrox to come along willingly. Nic was dragged along, of course, but when Madrox went to ask Tenebra to come along, the shadow mutant actually agreed. No one was sure how that happened, but Mouse made a mental note to give more credit to Madrox's methods of persuasion. The real shock came when Charm somehow managed to convince Aphedria to come along. Charm refused to say how, but later Charm told Mouse that she had bribed Aphedria with a new crossbow. After that, it was pretty simple to convince Backlash that a social outing would help them bond and make a better team, if they ignored the fact that Monster refused to come and Psych couldn't be found. Then they were all on their way to the mall.

* * *

"Nic, get out here," Charm called.

"I will not," Nic replied from inside the dressing room stall. "You actually want me to be seen in public in this?"

"Come on, we promised the boys a show," Mouse said.

"Then you two can give it to them," Nic retorted.

When the Brotherhood had gotten to the mall, they had spent a little while looking around together, but gradually they had separated into smaller groups. Tenebra had wandered off somewhere and Madrox had followed after her. Then Mouse and Charm had pulled Nic into one of the clothing stores. Pyro, Alex, and Pietro had decided to stay with them, while Aphedria, Backlash, and Toad had continued on.

Charm and Mouse immediately began picking out clothes for Nic, as well as some for themselves. They had headed to the dressing room, where Charm and Mouse had been trying on skimpy outfits and then coming out to show the boys. They were picking which ones to buy based on which clothes made the boys stare the most.

Nic, though, had yet to come out of the dressing room. And, unfortunately, it was very unlikely she would come out in most of the clothes that Charm and Mouse had picked out. If she was even trying them on at all.

"We have been giving it to them. It's your turn," Charm commented with a grin.

"Okay, just wear the jeans and the camouflage tank, then. Those aren't bad at all," Mouse said.

"Fine," Nic said, coming out after a moment's pause. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a spaghetti-strap camouflage shirt that ended about three inches above the top of her pants.

"Now that looks good," Alex told her.

Nic shifted uncomfortably. "These aren't proper clothes for battle."

"We're not battling all the time, Nic, what are you gonna wear then?" Mouse asked.

"What I have now is fine," Nic protested.

"It so is not," Charm told her.

"Charm!" Aphedria announced, coming up behind them. "Crossbow. Now."

Charm turned to look at her. "Didn't you go off with Backlash and Toad?"

"They've gone home," Aphedria replied.

"They didn't take Crimson, did they?" Charm asked, sounding slightly worried.

"No, they took a new car, one Toad liked," Aphedria replied. "Now come on."

"Fine, fine," Charm said, turning to look at the others. "We'll be back in a bit. Take good care of Nic, kay Mouse?"

* * *

Lance Alvers sighed heavily as he examined the plate of nachos that sat before him. So far, he was entirely unimpressed with New York. It was just like L.A., or Chicago, or any other big city he had been to. Full of small-minded humans who did nothing but piss him off. And so far, the rumors that Magneto had his headquarters here seemed to be unfounded. Of course, he had only been in New York for a little under a day, but Lance had never been a very patient person. He was already planning on moving on.

A tingling feeling at the back of his neck gave him the feeling that someone was watching him and his gaze snapped up, darting around the food court. A pretty girl about his age was sitting a few tables away from him, with strawberry blonde hair and blue-green eyes that Lance could have compared to the ocean if he was feeling particularly romantic. He wasn't, at the moment, but he relaxed now that he realized who had been staring at him.

He grinned at her and her eyes dropped down to the plate of fries she was eating as she realized that she had been caught. After a moment, though, she looked up again and smiled back at him. Taking that as an invitation, Lance grabbed his nachos and headed over to her table. Things seemed to be looking up.

"Mind if I sit here?" Lance asked, standing by the empty chair at her table.

"Go ahead," she replied. "But you'll have to share the nachos."

Lance grinned at her, sitting down and setting the nachos in the middle of the table. "Fine, but I want some fries in return."

"They're garlic," she warned as she pushed the plate towards him.

"Great," he said, snagging a few fries. "Almost as good as chili fries."

"Nope," she said, shaking her head. "Garlic fries are definitely better."

"Then you obviously haven't tried my chili fries," Lance told her. "They'd rock your world."

She laughed. "I'll reserve judgment until I've tried them. Until then, my vote goes with garlic fries."

"I don't know if I want to share my nachos with you after hearing how misguided your judgment is." Lance said.

She reached out and grabbed a nacho before he could pull them away. "Too late. You already sat down, now you have to forfeit the nachos."

Lance considered that for a moment, then commented teasingly, "Well if I had known that, I might have just stayed over at my table."

"Now that would have been misguided judgment," she said with a grin.

"I see your point," he conceded. "All right, I guess sitting here is worth sacrificing a few nachos. Even if you don't have faith in my chili fries."

"You could try to convince me to be a believer. It'd probably be entertaining," she teased.

Lance shook his head, "I think my efforts would probably be useless. But just wait until I actually have them with me. Then you'd have to see the truth."

"The truth is out there," she said, nodding her head as if she agreed.

"You've been watching too much X-Files," Lance told her.

"Nah," she replied. "The reruns are on the same time as Charmed reruns and, clearly, Charmed is better."

"Clearly," Lance agreed. "Phoebe was hot."

She grinned. "Phoebe's my favorite."

Lance leaned back, casting his gaze over her. "Yeah, I see some resemblance. In the hot category, anyway."

"Flatterer," she said, but she looked pleased.

They talked for the better part of an hour, until she looked down at her watch and sighed.

"I should probably get going," she said reluctantly. "I was supposed to meet my cousin ten minutes ago. She's probably freaking out."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want her to worry about you," Lance said, surprised that he was actually a bit sorry to see her go.

"Maybe we could talk again sometime?" she suggested, suddenly looking a bit nervous.

"I'd like that," Lance agreed.

"Great," she said, brightening. "Do you live in New York?"

"I'm only passing through, but I can thing of a reason or two to stay a bit longer," he told her, grinning.

She blushed slightly. "I'm just visiting my cousin, but I might be moving in with her. So I'll be here awhile." She pulled out a pen and took his hand, writing her number on the back of it. "Call me if you decide to stay in town?"

"I will," he said, glancing down at his hand. She had written Kaliah along with her phone number, and he realized they hadn't told each other their names. "Kaliah? That's a pretty name. I'm Lance."

"Thanks," Kaliah said, then stood up. "See you around."

Lance watched her go, grinning. Yes, things were definitely looking up. He stood up, pushing his chair back. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized that someone was standing behind him, and his chair hit the person. Lance turned around to face a muscular blonde guy wearing a letterman's jacket and smirked inwardly. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Watch where you're going," the guy growled.

Lance shrugged. "It's not my fault you're stupid enough to stand behind someone's chair."

"He's mouthing off to you, Duncan," one of the jock's friends heckled. "Are you gonna take that?"

"Not a smart move, dumbass," the jock said, throwing a punch at him.

Lance ducked, dropping to the ground and then rolling back up. He grinned widely as he summoned up his power, his eyes rolling back in his head as he slammed his foot on the ground.

* * *

"Why do you continue to follow me around?" Tenebra demanded, but in a slightly absent manner, as if she didn't expect a response.

"Why do you continue to ask that question?" Madrox returned, a cocky grin on his lips.

"Because every time I do, you neither answer me nor stop," she replied. "I've killed people for less."

"I'm sure you have," he agreed cheerfully. "It's worth the risk, beautiful."

Tenebra frowned at him. "I know I'm attractive. That should have no effect on the amount of time you chose to spend in my presence. We're team members." Saying that last part left a bit of a bad taste in Tenebra's mouth. She still wasn't used to working with anyone but herself.

Madrox shrugged. "Shouldn't, but it does. Maybe I enjoy these stimulating conversations we have. Or maybe I just love flirting with danger." He winked at her. "You haven't killed me yet."

Tenebra's frown deepened. "No, I haven't." She didn't know why that was. She had agreed to this playing nice thing, and that might have been it. Tenebra was a person of her word, after all. She had to be, in the assassin business. If she said she'd do it, it would be done. Aside from that, Tenebra hardly ever killed if she wasn't getting paid for it. But regardless, there was only so much Tenebra could take before she snapped. And she had snapped a lot quicker than this in the past.

She stopped walking, then, pausing to examine the man before her. Tenebra found him attractive, but that didn't mean anything. She had sleep with men who were far more attractive than he was many times to aide her rise in rank. A few times she had even slept with men far less attractive, although those hadn't been nearly as enjoyable. She had even sought out men such as him, prettier than him, after a particularly good kill that left her feeling energized.

Perhaps that was it. Tenebra had not killed anyone since she had joined Magneto's team. The solution to that was simple. Magneto had her teamed up with Aphedria on a hunt that night. Tenebra would kill their target, and then see if the fact that Madrox still lived was a good thing. Satisfied, Tenebra gave a predatory smile to Madrox, who had stopped his walking to raise an eyebrow at her.

The eyebrow rose even further at the sight of her grin. "Whatever it is, I either want to be front row or very far away."

Few people took Tenebra by surprise. Madrox was one of them, and he did so then. Tenebra couldn't remember the last person who didn't feel the slightest bit of fear at her blades in the moonlight smile. "You may not want a front row seat, but you'll get one. Audience participation required."

A sly grin spread across his lips, but whatever he had been about to say next was cut off as a small earthquake shook the mall. Madrox and Tenebra glanced at each other, then towards the food court as a larger tremor knocked several people nearby off their feet.

"I bet Charm, Mouse and the boys are responsible for this," Tenebra said.

"I bet we're missing all the fun," Madrox replied, walking off.

Tenebra remained where she was for a moment, then sighed softly and headed after him.

* * *

"So who's your favorite?" Alex asked, leaning against the wall behind them as the three guys watched Mouse picking out another pair of jeans for Nic.

"Favorite?" Pietro repeated, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "There's three of us and three of them. Perfect for hooking up."

Pietro rolled his eyes. "It never works out like that."

Alex shrugged. "True. But it'd be nice. Still, can't we pick favorites? I kind of like Mouse."

Pietro considered. "I don't know. I'd rather just have them all." He grinned.

"What about you, Pyro?" Alex asked.

"I didn't come here for hooking up," Pyro replied, then smirked. "It just happened."

"So are you and Charm serious or is it just casual stuff?" Pietro asked.

Pyro shrugged. "It was pretty exclusive, but there was no one else here worth doing. She's not the serious relationship type, anyway."

"Yeah, she didn't seem like it," Alex said.

"She and Mouse are the same," Pietro replied. "I traveled here with Mouse, and she flirted constantly with me and Psych. Madrox, too."

"Wonder if Mouse is all talk," Alex mused absently. "Some girls are like that, you know. But then it's even more fun when you finally get them to go with you."

Pietro shrugged. "I just don't know if I see Mouse like that. Yeah, she's a flirt, but she's kinda young. She's like, sixteen or something."

"Do you know, or are you just guessing?" Alex asked, sounding slightly wistful.

"Guessing," Pietro said. "But she looks sixteen, and she acts it."

"Damn," Alex said. "Oh, well. Sex isn't everything."

"Charm acts just like her, and she's twenty-four," Pyro told him.

"Good point," Pietro agreed. "You should ask her."

"I will," Alex said. "When she's alone, though. Girls in groups freak me out. They're always giggling at you."

"Nic's not like regular girls, though," Pietro said. "Mouse and Charm had to drag her here."

"I dunno, she looks like she's having fun." Alex said, staring over at Nic for awhile. "She's complaining a lot, but she's getting a lot of the clothes. She looks pretty good in them, too."

"You just can't make up your mind, can you?" Pietro teased.

Pyro grinned. "Says the guy who wants them all."

"You can't talk, you've already made up your mind," Alex grumbled.

"Charm made it up for him," Pietro said.

"I don't think Charm'd say no to a threesome," Pyro replied, considering. "She'd probably try to get a couple extra guys in there, though."

"Brotherhood orgy," Alex commented cheerfully. "Sounds good."

"We should take votes," Mouse said, coming up behind them. "See who'd be up for it. I'm totally in."

"Are you buying those, Nic?" Alex asked, looking at the clothes in her hand. "Those looked great on you."

"Mouse is buying them for me," Nic told him. "I don't want to waste money on them."

"Yup," Mouse agreed. "I'm _buying _them. You guys wanna entertain Nicci while I go do that?"

"Nic," Nic said, glaring at her. "It's Nic."

"Right." Mouse nodded. "So I'll meet you guys outside."

She started towards the counter, but as she passed Pietro, the ground trembled and she stumbled into him. He caught her, but then another tremble sent them both onto the ground. Pietro stood and helped her up, then looked at the other three.

"I'm betting that wasn't natural," Pyro said. "What do you say we go check things out?"

* * *

"How the hell did you get me to come again?" Aphedria muttered.

"I promised you a crossbow," Charm replied as they walked through the mall. "And, may I remind you, I am leaving behind three very hot boys to get you said crossbow."

"That was a rhetorical question, Charm, you weren't supposed to answer it," Aphedria commented.

Charm grinned. "You know such subtleties are lost on me, hon. Besides, if you hadn't come and there had been a fight, you would have killed us for leaving you behind."

Aphedria just grunted in response and Charm smiled again, knowing she was right. They found the weapons shop, then, and headed inside, walking right up to the counter. Charm immediately started flirting with the young man working the cash register, while Aphedria used the distraction to hop behind the counter and start examining the crossbows.

"Hey…You're not supposed to be back there," the man said, half-turning to look at Aphedria.

She raised an eyebrow at him, obviously not caring.

"Don't worry, sugar, she knows what she's doing," Charm told him.

The man didn't look entirely convinced, but before he could either say something or just go back to flirting, the store shook slightly.

Charm frowned. "What the hell?"

Aphedria jumped back over the counter with a crossbow in hand as the ground shook again. "Trouble. Reason I came here. Let's go."

"Guess she wants that one," Charm commented as Aphedria stalked out of the store. "Thanks, hon." She dropped some money on the counter, then headed out after Aphedria.

She caught up to her quickly and the two headed towards the food court, where everyone seemed to be running away from. When they got there, they found that the rest of the Brotherhood still in the mall had gathered there as well.

"What's going on?" Charm asked Pyro.

"We all just got here," Pyro replied. "Looks like some flatscans are getting their asses kicked."

Sure enough, an attractive young man with longish brown hair slammed his foot into the ground and caused another earthquake, knocking a group of guys that had surrounded him to the ground.

"We should finish this," Pyro said. "Aphedria? Take them out."

"You got it," Aphedria said gleefully, reaching out her hand. Within a few moments, the guys surrounding the mutant began to wither away, quickly becoming nothing but skeletons.

The mutant guy looked around. He spotted them and shifted uncertainly, looking unsure if he should be getting ready for another fight.

"What's your name?" Backlash asked.

"Avalanche," he replied.

"Well, Avalanche," Pyro said. "How'd you like to join the Brotherhood?"


	28. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: **Okay, this will be the last of the dimensions. There's a couple of ones that I wanted to do that I didn't get to, but I think it's time to move on to the actual story now. As fun as it is tormenting Logan and giving him some character development, I'm ready to start working with everyone else again. This was originally going to be two chapters, but because I wrote all of the parts out of order and then only had to finish up the endings, I just put them together. Some of the endings might seem a bit abrupt, since I've been having a bit of writer's block and just wanted to get this chapter done. But! It's up now, so yay.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Logan was not pleased. He was fucking tired of these fucking dimensions and their fucking way of screwing with him and then sending him off into another one to be fucked with some more. Maybe if he said fuck a few more times, he'd feel better. He tried it, but it didn't work. He gave a soft growl, then looked around to see where he had ended up this time. He was in a bar, seated at a small table. Close by was what looked like a stage, although it stretched out in the middle in what looked like a catwalk. The stage was empty, and behind it was a thick red curtain blocking off the rest of the bar.

As Logan watched, Zephyr emerged from behind the curtain, dressed in a long blue skirt and a button up blue sweater. She stood demurely on the stage in front of the catwalk thing, waiting for the bar to quiet down. A spotlight fell on her as soft piano music started playing. She waited a moment, then began singing. Her voice was sweet, pure, and with an underlying innocence that made it all more appealing.

"Dearest friends, dear gentlemen

Listen to my song

Life down here's been hard for you

Life has made you strong

Let me lift the mood

With my attitude…"

She had been slowly walked towards the rest of the bar, but as she trailed off on the first verse, she tossed the audience a wink. Zephyr tore off her sweater, leaving her in a very skimpy blue halter top, and angled her lower body so the slit in her skirt was now visible, revealing her long, slim legs up to her waist. Cheers rang out across the room, and Zephyr grinned before singing again. This time, her voice was still beautiful, but much more sultry and suggestive.

"Hey fellas

The time is right

Get ready

Tonight's the night

Boys, what you're hopin' for will come true

Let me be good to you

You tough guys

You're feelin' all alone

You rough guys

The best o' you sailors and bums

All o' my chums

So dream on

And drink your beer

Get cozy

Your baby's here

You won't be misunderstood

Let me be good to you

Hey fellas

I'll take off all my blues…"

Zephyr twirled, one hand holding her skirt by the slit, then she raised her arm over her head, pulling the skirt completely off. Now clad only in the halter, a silver bikini bottom, and blue stilettos, she sashayed closer to the audience and continued her song to even louder cheers and cat calls.

"Hey fellas

There's nothin' I won't do

Just for you

So dream on

And drink your beer

Get cozy

Your baby's here

Hey boys, I'm talkin' to you

Your baby's gonna come through

Let me be good to you."

Her song done, Zephyr winked at the audience and disappeared behind the curtain, ducking the flowers and coins that were tossed her way. Logan stood up and walked towards the back, following her scent. He ducked behind the curtain and saw her walking away from him, towards a hallway of what was most likely dressing rooms.

"Zephyr!" He called, but she didn't respond. He paused, trying to remember her real name from her files, then shouted, "Haley!"

Now she hesitated, turning around to face him. Her eyes searched him over for a minute, then a surprised smile appeared on her lips. "James?" she asked quietly.

"Hey, Hal, this guy bothering you?" someone called from behind the curtain.

"No, Rosie, it's fine. I know him," Zephyr replied.

"Okay. I'm going on, so let Paige know if you need anything," Rosie said, then Logan heard the clacking of heels moving away. Whoever Rosie was, her scent seemed familiar, but Logan couldn't place it.

"I haven't seen you in forever, James," Zephyr said, stepping over to give him a hug and kiss him on both cheeks. "How have you been?"

"All right, I guess," Logan replied, shifting a bit and wondering why the hell she was calling him James. Now that she was closer, he could tell she wasn't the key, and he was getting impatient.

"Come, we can talk in my dressing room," Zephyr told him, taking his hand and pulling him along.

Logan followed reluctantly. He wanted to get moving, but at the moment, Zephyr was his best link to everyone else. He had to find out if she knew any of them. She led him to a large room that had rows of outfits, a huge vanity, and several couches gathered around a table and a mini-fridge. Zephyr sat down on one of the couches and motioned for him to sit next to her.

"You haven't been to see me in awhile," Zephyr told him as he sat down. "I was worried something had happened to you."

"Nothing's ha…Woah, what are you doing?" Logan demanded.

Zephyr had moved over to his side of the couch and was currently straddling him. She pressed her body against his and leaned in, placing her lips right by his ear.

"What've you got for me?" she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Logan demanded.

"Usual place, then?" Her hand drifted down his chest, fingers trailing across the fabric of his shirt and hooking under it in one of the spaces between buttons.

He was about to demand, again, to know what the hell she was doing when her hand left his chest and he caught sight of a scrap of paper clutched in it.

"Thanks," she said, placing a kiss on his lips before sliding off his lap. "All right, fine, it can wait. Are you hungry?"

Zephyr smiled brightly at him, but Logan could see her eyes flicking back and forth from the paper hidden in her hand to him. If he hadn't been looking for it, he couldn't have seen it, though, and it made him want to know what the hell was so secretive.

"I could eat," Logan replied.

Relief passed over Zephyr's face for a moment. Logan blinked, wondering if that had been some kind of code question. Well, apparently he had answered it in a good way. Hopefully it had been the right answer. Unfortunately, he would never get to know whether or not it was, because he felt the world begin to darken again and before long, it faded completely out of existence.

* * *

Logan heard voices talking in German, but he wasn't fluent enough in the language to understand what they were saying. He opened his eyes, blinking and then squinting in an attempt to clear his blurry vision. His head felt fuzzy, his thought process slow, but it was rapidly clearing.

"Well, fuck, that wore off fast," someone commented in English. "Can you hear me?"

Logan recognized that voice. Kurt. "Where am I?"

"Headquarters," Kurt replied. "Or what passes for headquarters out in this fucking wilderness. We brought you here after you saved our pathetic asses. What's your name, mein freund?"

"Logan," he answered, sitting up and looking around. He was on a cot in the corner of a large tent. Several empty cots surrounded him, and were scattered about the majority of the tent. What looked like basic medical supplies filled up most of the rest.

"Well met, Herr Logan," Kurt said, and Logan turned his attention towards the German man. Kurt looked utterly normal, like he did with his image inducer on, except his hair was blonde and his eyes blue. "My name is Kurt Wagner."

"Yeah, right back at you," Logan returned absently, shaking his head to clear the rest of the cobwebs from it.

"How are you feeling?" Kurt asked. "You didn't appear to have sustained any injuries, save for the side effects of what those rebels shot you with."

"What was it?" Logan asked.

"A mild tranquilizer. They think it's deadly to us. We like to let them continue to think so," Kurt told him with a wink. "How did you come to be here?"

"I don't know," Logan said. With no context clues to play off here, he figured going the amnesia route would be the best bet. Normally, he would have just gone ahead and told Kurt what was going on, but there was something about this Kurt that he didn't like. That seemed wrong. "I don't remember anything."

"Nothing?" Kurt asked, blinking rapidly.

"Nope," Logan said, shaking his head. "I remember being in the forest, and helping you guys."

"How did you know we were the ones you should be helping?" Kurt questioned.

Logan shrugged. "Just did."

Kurt's eyes lit up in something like understanding. "I see."

Rachel burst into the tent, then, pausing at the entrance to yell at someone on the other side of the flap in rapid German. She closed the flap behind her, striding purposefully towards Logan and Kurt.

"Who are you?" she asked in heavily accented English. "What were you doing out in the forest? Who sent you?"

"Calm down, liebling," Kurt said, moving quickly to her side. "He saved us out there. He is not our enemy."

"How do you know?" Rachel asked, turning towards him.

The two had a brief, terse conversation in German, then Rachel rolled her eyes and looked back at Logan.

"Thank you," she told him, her tone softened but her expression still suspicious. "We wouldn't have made it without your help."

"Glad to help," Logan said with a shrug. "It seemed like the right thing to do."

"You don't remember anything?" she pressed. "Who your parents were, where you were born, where you live? Your job?"

"Nothing," Logan replied honestly.

"We found these on him," Kurt said, handing Rachel a small package. "Do not worry, you are among friends. Come, I will give you a tour."

"No you won't," Rachel told him, giving him back the package. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You have a report to give, and you're not getting out of that. I'll give him the tour."

Kurt grinned. "Ach, schatz, you know me too well. Fine, fine, enjoy yourselves while I die of boredom."

Rachel smiled back at him, leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek. "Come find us when you're through, liebe. Come on, Logan, let's go wander around the camp."

Logan stood up and followed her out of the tent. They were in a relatively clear section of what looked to be a fairly dense forest farther off. Tents, both small and large, were scattered about the clearing. There was also a medium-sized cage built out of wood. Inside it were a handful of people, some with obvious physical mutations.

Rachel caught him looking at him and grinned. "Not exactly the most…" She paused, apparently searching for the proper English term before settling on, "advanced technical equipment we've made, but it serves its purpose."

"And what would that be?" Logan asked.

She blinked at him in surprise. "Where else would be put the rebels and other mutants and Jews we find?"

Logan couldn't keep himself from growling. He had fucking been in World War Two, it was one of the few things he could remember. True, it was only vague flashes, but he remembered the horror of the things he had seen. "Am I in Germany?"

"Of course," Rachel said, smiling in encouragement at his growling. She must have taken it as a response to mentioning mutants and Jewish people. "After we won the war, Germany is everywhere."

They had kept walking while they were speaking, and now they reached the edge of the camp. Logan looked at Rachel, then back at the cage and made a quick decision. He grabbed her and started, running off into the forest, forcing her to run behind him. When they were a bit away, Logan stopped and turned on Rachel, pinning her up against a tree.

"How do you do that to them," Logan growled, his tone not making it a question. "You're a mutant yourself."

Rachel's eyes widened as a brief panic overtook them, then her expression hardened. "I don't know what you talking about.

Logan could smell the fear coming off of her and he grinned. "You're a mutie, Rach, and you know it. How have you hidden it for this long?"

Her body started trembling. "They found out, didn't they? And they sent you to deal with me?"

"No one sent me, darlin'. I could smell it on you," Logan replied.

Her posture stiffened. "You're a mutant? Don't touch me!" She pushed at him, but it didn't do much good.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "You're not one to talk, you know."

Rachel shook her head. "I'm not like them. I'm not. I'm a good soldier." She started speaking in German again, talking faster the more panicked she got.

"You're not the only one," Logan told her. "Kurt's a mutant too."

Rachel stopped abruptly and started laughing. "Kurt is one of the Fuhrer's favorites. There is no one less likely to be a mutant, unless it is the Fuhrer himself."

"I knew about you," Logan said. "Why would I lie about Kurt?"

"I don't know," Rachel replied. "Why would you confront me with what I am unless you were planning on turning me in?"

"I haven't said I wasn't planning on turning you in yet," he answered.

The trembling returned and Rachel just stared down at him with frightened eyes.

Logan sighed. "I'm not going to tell anyone. Rach, why?"

"I can't be like them. I wasn't raised like that. I am a good German. I'm not one of them. I can't be. I can't. So they have to die," Rachel said. "They're right. Mutants are not good. Mutants are bad. I'm bad. But I'm not all mutant. I'm German, too. I can prove it."

"Rachel, do you think any of the things you've done will matter to these people if they find out what you are?" Logan asked. "You'll never be good enough for them, just because of what you are. That's not right."

"No," Rachel said, shaking her head. "I'm needed. They know I am. They wouldn't…"

"Then why are you so worried about them finding out?" Logan asked.

Rachel didn't say anything.

Logan searched his brain, trying to think of something to say to her to make her understand that what she was doing was fucking wrong. But he couldn't. Mainly because the Rachel he knew wouldn't even think of doing something like this. This Rachel, she was a stranger. Before he could come up with anything, Logan's vision began to get fuzzy. He sighed, not entirely sure if he was relieved to be leaving or not. He'd like to think that his words had some effect on Rachel, but he doubted it. He didn't think he had changed anything, and now it was in the hands of whatever kind of person Logan was in that dimension.

* * *

Someone was sobbing hysterically nearby, and someone else was leaning against him. Soft curls were pressed against his chin, and when Logan glanced down he could see Cassandra's purple eyes staring up at him. She obviously couldn't stand up on her own, and he was all but holding her up.

"Cass?" Logan asked. "Cass, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, Logan." She murmured absently. "I think…I think I might be dying."

No. Of all the worlds to come to, he wasn't going to be in this one. He wasn't going to be in a world where Cassandra was dying. _I want to leave. I want to go right now. Fuck it, Jean, get me the fuck out of here! _

"You're not gonna die, Cass." Logan told her, then glanced up to see who was still crying. He didn't even bother to feel shock when he saw it was Gambit. Logan just ordered, "Get help. Now."

Gambit nodded through his tears and dashed off, leaving Logan to look at their surroundings. They were on a stage, and Logan could see at least a thousand or so empty seats out in the audience. Cassandra was dressed in some skimpy white and gold outfit, one that let him see enough of her skin to realize exactly how pale she was.

"Guess we won't make it to opening night, will we?" Cassandra commented, attempting to grin. "And I was just starting to like this whole undercover thing."

"Stop it." Logan told her. "Don't talk like that."

People came running in, then, and Logan looked up to see Hank, Warren, Kurt, Piotr, Bobby, Gambit, Scott, and an unfamiliar African-American young man charge onto the stage.

"What happened?" Hank asked, moving over to their side.

"I don't know." Logan said. "She just fell."

Hank nodded. "Pick her up, we'll take her to the medical wing."

Logan immediately scooped Cassandra up, hugging her close to him as he followed Hank. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fucking fair. This wasn't his world, this wasn't his Cassandra, why did he have to fucking be here when she died? No. She wasn't going to die. Whatever this was, it wasn't going to kill her. Logan couldn't let Cassandra die. Not his Cassandra, and not any other version of her out there that he would run into.

Logan laid Cassandra gently down onto the medical bed that Hank pointed him to, then sat by her side and refused to move, even when Hank ushered the others out to wait in the hall. Hank then promptly got to work, drawing blood and performing tests that Logan probably couldn't keep up with even if he knew what had happened. Logan just stared at Cassandra, watching her eyelids flutter and the soft rise and fall of her chest.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Hank finally let out a frustrated sigh.

"What?" Logan asked. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know." Hank replied. "It's nothing I've ever seen before. Nothing. It's like she's got something inside her, something that's eating her from the inside out."

"So get rid of it." Logan growled.

"I don't know how." Hank said. "I'll have to do more tests."

Logan glared at him. "Then do them."

"I am." Hank replied, looking at one of his machines helplessly. "But we have to wait for the results."

"Wait for what results?" Cassandra asked, opening her eyes.

The others, who were still waiting outside, noticed her waking up and filed into the room, gathering around her bed. This time, Hank didn't shoo them away.

"Results for a test I'm running." Hank told her. "One that will tell me how to fix you."

Cassandra gave a bit of a smile. "It's bad, isn't it? No one's saying anything, but you can always tell when it's bad. People look at you like they love you, like they're never going to be able to look at you again. Like you're looking at me right now."

"Don't be stupid, chere." Gambit told her, taking her hand. "You're gonna be fine. A little thing like this, it can't stop you. You stronger than anyone Gambit knows."

"You're a liar." Cassandra told him, but it had the teasing quality of something she'd said many times. She looked them all over and smiled. "My boys. You're all so brave. I walk with heroes. You remember that."

"You are a hero, Cass." Warren said.

"I'm a hero?" Cassandra blinked up at them. "A super hero."

"Yeah, you're a super hero." Bobby agreed. "And this is your power, to not let this beat you."

"Not you." Piotr said. "Not you, сестра."

"What would we do without you to keep us in line?" The man Logan didn't know asked.

"Evan's right." Scott said. "So you better not even think about letting us fend for ourselves."

Cassandra laughed, but at the end it turned into a cough. "Guess you guys would be pretty lost without me."

Kurt gave a wavering grin. "Believe it, Schwester. Besides, who would we get to play our leading lady?"

Cassandra laughed again, and this time she managed not to cough. "You know, I haven't had this many men at my bedside since that night with the varsity lacrosse team."

Logan's eyes widened in horror and she grinned.

"It was a joke." She commented weakly.

Logan leaned over and took her hand. She may not have been his Cassandra, but he was having a difficult time convincing himself of that. Hank noticed this and shooed everyone out of the room again. Then he gathered some things and left. Logan watched them in the hall out of the corner of his eye. Hank was handing out things and barking out orders, moving quickly and forcefully. They all really loved Cassandra, it seemed. He wondered absently where the other girls were, but he had been through enough dimensions by now to know that they didn't always know each other. Usually, but not always.

"You're still with me, right?" Cassandra asked.

"I'm not going anywhere, Cass." Logan replied.

"Not going to leave me." Cassandra said, smiling to herself as she closed her eyes. "He's with me." Her body arched upwards and she coughed harshly, her face contorting in pain.

Logan reached out for her, but she pulled away, shaking her head.

"It's better now." She told him. "It's better now." Her eyes were glazed over slightly as she said, "I don't know what I did wrong. It must have been something, but I don't know what it was. Can you tell me, Logan?"

"Nothing, Cass." He said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Cassandra nodded, then coughed again. "Whatever it is, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Logan couldn't remember ever feeling like this. The only thing that came close was when he had stabbed himself in the heart in an attempt to escape back at Liberty Island. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. Don't worry, Cass, you just need to rest. Hank's on it."

This wasn't his world. Why did he care so much? Why was this tearing him up inside?

"Logan?" Cassandra asked. "Could you have loved me?"

Her purple eyes stared up at him, and for a long moment he just lost himself in them. Then, he said quietly, "Yes. I think I already do." He wasn't ready to come to terms with that yet. Not after Jean. But here, in this place that wasn't his, maybe he could admit it just a little.

Cassandra nodded, her eyes turning back to stare at the ceiling. "He loves me. He's here with me. You can't take me now." She then looked back over at him. "It's not fair, is it? How little time we got. You think I would have known…" Abruptly she sat up, sliding off the bed and landing unsteadily on her feet. "I have to get going. I have to…"

Logan bolted up as she started to fall and caught her, sinking to his knees as he cradled her in his arms.

"You caught me again." She murmured absently. "You're always there to catch me."

"And I'm always going to be here, Cass." He said.

She tilted her head so she could see him. "I'm dying, Logan."

"No." He replied firmly.

"Yes." She answered. "I'm so sorry."

"No, you have to stay with me." Logan told her.

Cassandra blinked a few times. "He says I can stay. He says. Logan? Can I stay?" She paused. "Please…why can't I stay…" Her breathing quickened, and a small trickle of blood fell from her nose to paint her lips red. "Logan. You have to move on. You have to live. I lo…." Her head fell back as her eyes closed, and he could hear her heartbeat stop.

"No." Logan said. "No. No. No. No." It was all he could think to say. All he could think to do. He clutched at her body closer, resting his chin on her head as he rocked back and forth. Logan fell back, sitting down hard as he drew her into his lap, still murmuring, "No." He felt tears falling down his face, and the last thing he thought before the world went black was that this was only the third time he could ever remember crying.

* * *

The sky was cloudy and the air smelled of rain. That was the first thing Logan noticed when he came to. He was standing on the middle of a grass covered hill. At the bottom, he could see a sprawling ranch, even hear the distant sounds of the horses in the stables and the soft murmurs of people talking. When he glanced upwards, he could see Samantha sitting cross-legged on top of a large rock. He started towards her, but before he could reach the top of the hill she spoke.

"Hello, Logan." She greeted without turning around.

Oh, good, she recognized him. At least she knew him in this dimension. He let out a sigh of disappointment, though, when he realized that she wasn't the one. After the last dimension, well…He was a lot more shaken up than he wanted to be. Watching Cassandra die…That had been worse than when Jean had died. Logan never thought he'd come across anything worse than that. He hadn't known anything could make him hurt more. The only thing that was making him go on was the fact that the Cassandra who had died wasn't his Cassandra. And when he finally got home, she would still be there for him to hold.

He just wanted to go home. He needed to see her. Logan glanced back towards the ranch, considering going down there, but then he continued on his way.

"I haven't seen you for awhile." Samantha commented. "Thought maybe you had gone away for good."

"Where is everyone?" Logan asked, looking around. He didn't know how many people she actually knew, but hopefully one of them was his key.

"Waiting for us, like usual." She replied, standing up. "Come on."

She turned to face him, and he caught sight of a scar that started at her left ear and cut across her throat, disappearing beneath the collar of her shirt. He followed her down the other side of the hill and then into the forest. After awhile, she stopped at a large clearing and gestured past her. "There they are."

Logan looked over her shoulder, and saw a graveyard. A huge one, with small unmarked graves and larger ones that had flowers and other trinkets placed beside them. He looked away. He didn't want to see the names. "What happened?"

"It's been a long time since you ask me that." Samantha said. "There's a war. It started…I don't how long ago. Seems like we've been fighting forever. For a long time, we fought our own wars, separately. Then Magneto was killed and the Brotherhood joined with us. It didn't last long, though. The mansion was hit, and Charles, Scott, Helena, Ororo, Jean, Beast, Pyro, Backlash…They were all gone. Whoever was attacking us, whoever started this war, they were winning. They took over, and now they rule. Over humans and mutants alike. We ran. We regrouped here, where my parents joined the fight. But we weren't enough.

"Anorra was the first to die. She was trying to save them, a group of kids that he took for their powers. She flew them here, so they were safe. She didn't stop to bandage the hole they tore in her. She was gone almost as soon as she landed. Piotr…He didn't take it so well. He went in there, alone. They sent him back to us in pieces.

"Then it was Bobby and Rachel. They just got married. We managed to have a little bit of happiness there. They were supposed to go up to the lake, for their honeymoon. Instead they went to go rescue…I don't even remember who it was now. We found what was left of them two days later.

"Things happened quickly after that. We were gathering people, but us…We were losing ourselves. Gambit died leading a group of new recruits on a sabotage mission, Cass killed herself when they captured her. Kaliah, we tried to get her out. But we couldn't. And we lost Jean-Paul in the process. Tabi, Evan, Jono, Lance….

"And then they got something. I still don't know what it was. Something that switched powers. Zephyr was the first person targeted. Oh, the things they did with her powers. If she had been able to control it that well…She couldn't take it. She went to get her power back, or stop the one using it. She never came back. We found her body later. But whatever she did, it worked. They don't have her power anymore.

"Warren and Kurt, they went to go find whatever it was. I didn't want him to go. I couldn't lose him, too. But he was the only one. He could teleport in. He just wasn't able to teleport out. So Rogue went in, with another team. She was supposed to destroy it. But she didn't. They took her power, and then they killed her.

"And then it was just us. For a long time, it was just us. I guess you kept me sane. Because the day they killed you was the day I lost it." Samantha finished, looking over at him.

This was so fucking not what Logan needed right now. He had just watched Cassandra die, he didn't need Samantha telling him exactly how the rest of his family had died. Or that he had died as well.

"If I'm dead, then why are you talking to me?" Logan asked.

Samantha shrugged. "You show up, from time to time. You did a lot at the beginning, asking me what went wrong, what happened, where everyone was. Not so much lately. I sort of thought I might have been getting better."

Samantha wasn't the key. Logan could feel that. Which meant that someone else had to still be alive. "I'm not dead." He said.

"You said that a lot, too." She said absently.

Logan strode over to her and grabbed her arm. "Did I do this?"

Samantha looked down at his hand, then up at him in shock. "Logan? But…how is this possible?"

"I don't know, kid. If I'm dead in this world, I shouldn't have a body to jump into." He gave a brief explanation of what the hell had been happening. "That's why I know someone else still has to be alive."

Samantha shook her head. "No. Don't do this to me, Logan, don't make me believe."

"It's true." Logan told her. "Who's not dead? Whose body didn't you see?"

"Rogue." Samantha whispered. "We never found her. We looked, but we didn't. When she didn't come back, and they started using her power, we tried to get in, but we didn't find her….And they never keep us for this long, so we just assumed…"

"I have to get in there. I have to find her." Logan said.

"Yes." Samantha nodded. "Yes. We're attacking soon. It's a last attempt. Come with us. Fight with us. If they see you're back, it'll help." She paused for a moment, then said, "Come on," and started back out of the forest and towards the ranch.

He followed her, through the crowd that had gathered in the open space between the buildings. People whispered as he walked by, but he ignored them. The meeting was quick. Samantha stood up above all the others, gave a short speech, and told them that he was back. The crowd cheered at that. Samantha announced a small change in plan, that she and Logan were going to be going to the prisoners' cells, and then it was over.

"Illy? Blink?" Samantha asked.

Logan looked out over the crowd to see a young blonde girl and a pink-skinned woman nod. Then, several pink portals opened up through-out the crowd, and glowing circles appeared under a few groups of people. He glanced downward, and saw one of the circles beneath him and Samantha.

"Good luck, everyone," Samantha called, then she and Logan sank into the ground.

They reappeared in a dark, empty room. Samantha tilted her head towards the door and started quietly out. Logan went after her, all of his senses searching for any sign of someone coming near them. They had been walking for about five minutes when Logan caught a familiar scent in the air.

"It's her," he said quietly. "She's close."

Samantha nodded, her face emotionless. But he could smell the hope on her. They kept walking, and Logan realized that they were nearing Rogue a lot faster than they should have been. She must be moving towards them. Before he could warn Samantha, Rogue, wearing leather pants and a long-sleeved see-through shirt, flew down to land in front of them. She picked up a metal desk, one-handed, and tossed it at them. Both of them ducked, rolling away to avoid it, then hopping back up on their feet.

"Oh, fuck," Logan muttered. This Rogue, in addition to her strange powers, was obviously not on their side. But at least he had been right about one thing. Rogue was the key.

"Rogue?" Samantha asked, shocked.

"Oh, come on, now, you must have noticed I was working for them. I left you so many calling cards," Rogue said, looking absently amused.

"We thought….we thought they killed you, and took your power," Samantha replied. She sounded confused, lost.

Rogue laughed. "They couldn't have my power if they killed me. Killing someone reverses the effect. How did you think Zephyr managed to stop them from using her power?"

"Rogue…you're my sister," Samantha told her.

"You say that like it means something," Rogue replied. "Family hurt each other all the time. And we're not even related by blood."

"No," Samantha agreed. "We're related by something stronger. I love you, Rogue, and you love us. This isn't you."

"You're boring me," Rogue told her. "Tacky speeches about love aren't going to change anything. Are we going to fight, or not?"

Samantha looked at Logan. "I can't fight her."

Rogue followed her glance, and for the first time noticed Logan there. "Well, fuck me. Didn't we kill you, brother?"

Logan gritted his teeth. This was _Rogue_, he couldn't kill her, even if this was just an alternate form. But maybe that was it. Maybe he had to kill the key, release it from the person it was trapped in. Was that what whoever trapped him wanted him to do? Kill one of the people he cared about in order to save himself? Logan would never do it. Logan's life wasn't worth trading for one of the others'. And yet…if he ever was going to do it, this would be the best world. Where the key was evil, was trying to hurt other people he cared about…

Samantha screamed, and Logan cursed himself as he realized he hadn't been paying attention. Rogue had apparently gotten bored, because she had lunged at Samantha and wrapped her gloved hand around her neck. Sparks flashed between them and Logan pounced, claws popping out as he tackled Rogue to the ground. She rolled out from under him, jumping to her feet. Blood dripped from the places where his claws had connected, but she just laughed.

"Lovely power you have, Sammie. I think I'll enjoy it," Rogue commented.

Logan turned to look at Samantha, who was standing there with this hollow, empty look in her eyes. Then her expression calmed, and she reached out and grabbed Rogue's arm, fingers snaking under one of the rips Logan had made in her shirt to clutch flesh. Rogue tried to shake her off, but Samantha was stronger than her now and kept her grip. Red fur sprouted across Rogue's skin, then disappeared as Samantha drained more of her power. The two women locked eyes.

"I'm sorry," they whispered at the same time, then Rogue's heartbeat stopped and she fell to the ground.

Samantha let her go and stumbled towards Logan, and he realized that she was now the key. It must have passed from Rogue to her when she drained Rogue.

"Logan," Samantha said, her voice a mix of Rogue's and her own. "It wasn't her. They gave her something to cloud her mind and now, now it's here." She paused, her accent thickening and becoming pure Rogue. "Oh, Lord, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…Rogue, we understand, we…Logan, you have to kill us. Kill us, or we'll do it again."

Logan shook his head and Samantha grabbed his hands, pressing his fists against her stomach.

"Please!" She demanded.

He closed his eyes and popped his claws, wincing as he felt them sink into flesh. Then, with relief, he felt the blackness come again and he let everything go.


End file.
